Japan stocks post first gain in 5 sessions

posted: 6 HOURS 13 MINUTES AGO

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TOKYO -Japanese stocks ended a four-day losing streak Wednesday amid receding fears of a government debt crisis in Europe and a sharp rise in machinery orders.

The benchmark Nikkei 225 stock average added 31.09 points, or 0.3 percent, to 9,963.99. The broader Topix index finished up 0.2 percent at 883.50.

Overnight, Wall Street advanced on reports that the European Union might rescue Greece, triggering hopes for other measures to limit debt problems in other weak European economies including Portugal and Spain.

Makers of industrial machinery rallied after the government said core machinery orders jumped 20.1 percent in December. Powered by exports, Japanese companies are boosting production and starting to buy new equipment for factories. The Cabinet Office expects orders to climb 2 percent in the January-March quarter.

Komatsu Ltd. jumped 3.2 percent to 1,784 yen, and Fanuc Ltd. finished up 0.7 percent to 8,850 yen.

"Stronger than initially expected growth in machinery orders from overseas is a positive sign for Japan's exports for coming months," said Hiromichi Shirakawa, chief economist for Credit Suisse in Tokyo.

It was a mixed day for the beleaguered auto sector, which faced a new batch of recalls and growing questions over quality. Honda Motor Co. expanded its 15-month old global recall for faulty air bags, adding some 437,000 cars to the list.

Honda shares lost 1.6 percent to 3,010 yen, while Toyota Motor Corp. rose 0.4 percent to 3,390 yen a day after announcing a global recall of its Prius hybrid.

Outpacing both was Nissan Motor Co., which finished up 1.6 percent at 743 yen. The country's third-biggest automaker said Tuesday it booked a profit in the October-December and predicted it would finish the full fiscal year in the black.

In currencies, the dollar edged up to 89.67 yen from 98.63 yen late Tuesday. The euro slipped to $1.3772 from $1.3791.

2010-02-10 05:11:48