TOKYO, Oct. 24 (Xinhua) -- Japan's benchmark Nikkei stock index closed higher Monday following Wall Street's gains late last week, as investors speculated the U.S. Federal Reserve may adopt a less hawkish stance on its monetary policy in the months ahead, while a possible intervention by financial authorities here to curb the yen's slide had a limited impact.

The 225-issue Nikkei Stock Average added 84.32 points, or 0.31 percent, from Friday to close the day at 26,974.90.

The broader Topix index, meanwhile, gained 5.21 points, or 0.28 percent, higher to finish at 1,887.19.

Brokers here said that trading got off to a bright start despite the Japanese yen's slide early on.

The yen was changing hands in the 149 zone versus the U.S. dollar early Monday before climbing to the 145 level following another likely yen-buying, dollar selling operation by Japanese authorities, market strategists here said.

They pointed out however, that the Japanese currency failed to maintain momentum against its U.S. counterpart and soon dropped to the lower 149 level, with Japanese Finance Minister Shunichi Suzuki neither admitting or denying any currency intervention took place.

"We are monitoring developments in the currency market with a high sense of urgency," Suzuki told a press briefing Monday.

"We cannot tolerate excessive volatility caused by speculative moves, and we are ready to take necessary steps when needed," he said, adding, "We are in a situation where we are confronting speculative moves strictly."

After the U.S. dollar dipped following the possible intervention, which would mark the third operation following one during New York trading hours on Friday and before that on Sept. 22, investors moved to snap up the dollar, dealers here said.

"Investors rushed to buy the dollar immediately after it slipped," Sho Suzuki, a market analyst at Matsui Securities Co., was quoted as saying.

Overall, while dealers said Japan may make a foray into the currency market again should the yen approach or breach the psychologically important 150 level, they have maintained that such moves will likely only have a limited impact on the yen's weakness, in part owing to a widening interest rate gap between Japan and the United States.

Currency moves aside, sentiment was buoyed to an extent by reports the Fed may slow its interest rate hikes at the end of the year, although concerns remained and gains later pared on the Fed's almost certain 0.75 percentage point hike to be announced following the conclusion of its policy-setting meeting next week, strategists here said.

"But the benchmark later pared much of its gains as the Fed is likely to implement another 0.75 percentage point hike in its policy next week and investors are skeptical whether the central bank will really loosen its monetary grip," Norihiro Fujito, senior investment strategist at Mitsubishi UFJ Morgan Stanley Securities Co., was quoted as saying.

By the close of play, machinery, electric appliance and precision instrument issues comprised those that gained the most.

Technology-oriented issues followed their U.S. peers higher following the Nasdaq advancing in the previous session, with heavyweight Tokyo Electron gaining 2 percent, while Advantest jumped 3.1 percent.

SoftBank Group weighed, however, ending 0.4 percent lower, after climbing 3.8 percent, and retail-linked issues also lost ground.

Isetan Mitsukoshi Holdings fell 3.6 percent, Takashimaya lost 3.3 percent, while J.Front Retailing was the biggest drag, closing 3.7 percent lower.

Issues that rose outpaced those that fell by 904 to 858, while 75 ended the day unchanged.

On the Prime Market, 1,030.97 million shares changed hands, rising from Friday's volume of 1,026.66 million shares.

The turnover on the first trading day of the week came to 2,602.78 billion yen (17.42 billion U.S. dollars). Enditem

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