Japan's Nikkei up 2 pct as Honda, banks gain

TOKYO, Feb 27 (Reuters) - Japan's Nikkei average rose 2 percent on Wednesday and hit a six-week high, with blue-chip shares such as Honda Motor Corp (7267.T: Quote, Profile, Research) driving gains after a $15 billion share buyback plan by IBM (IBM.N: Quote, Profile, Research) boosted investor confidence.

Mizuho Financial Group (8411.T: Quote, Profile, Research) and other financials also rose on growing relief about the stability of U.S. bond insurers after Moody's confirmed the credit rating of MBIA Inc (MBI.N: Quote, Profile, Research), while higher oil prices boosted energy shares.

As of 0405 GMT, the benchmark Nikkei .N225 was up 2 percent or 279.28 points at 14,104.00.

The broader TOPIX index was up 1.9 percent at 1,372.82. (Reporting by Aiko Hayashi)