TOKYO, Jul. 7, 2010 (Kyodo News International) --
(Editors: ADDING DETAILS AND PRICES IN LAST 8 GRAFS)
Japan's key Nikkei stock index surged nearly 3 percent Thursday morning to rise above the 9,500 line for the first time in more than a week, as investor sentiment got a boost from an overnight jump on Wall Street and exporter shares gained strongly.
The 225-issue Nikkei Stock Average advanced 247.56 points, or 2.67 percent, from Wednesday to 9,527.21, crossing the 9,500 mark for the first time since June 29. The broader Topix index of all First Section issues on the Tokyo Stock Exchange rose 19.96 points, or 2.37 percent, to 861.47.
All 33 sectors on the TSE gained ground, with the oil and coal products sector being the biggest winner, followed by the securities and electronic machinery issues.
Investor sentiment, which has been plagued by worries about the strength of the global economic recovery, improved as U.S. stocks jumped after U.S. bank State Street Corp. offered a better-than-expected earnings outlook for the second quarter, and fueled expectations for the upcoming U.S. earnings season later this month, brokers said.
The Dow Jones Industrial Average moved 2.82 percent higher to end above the 10,000 threshold for the first time since June 28, and setting a bullish tone for the Tokyo market where exporter stocks play a major part.
''Uncertainties about the (global) economic outlook and the fiscal problems in Europe have been weighing on the market, but optimism emerged following a succession of positive news,'' said Tsuyoshi Segawa, equity strategist at Mizuho Securities Co.
Segawa said multiple factors, such as expectations for earnings results and for the release of some details of so-called ''stress tests'' to gauge the health of European banks, added to the upbeat mood in the market, but he struck a cautious note about the durability of such optimism.
''I don't expect such optimism to build up one way because we need to see both earnings reports and the stress tests' results,'' Segawa said, adding that the market was seeing a rebound from recent sharp falls.
Revealing some details of stress testing, the Committee of European Banking Supervisors said Wednesday that 91 banks will be tested and the results will be released on July 23.
The yen retreated against the dollar and the euro, easing concerns about the recent trend of a strong yen that eats into Japanese exporters' overseas profits when repatriated. Among exporter shares, Sony surged 101 yen, or more than 4 percent, to 2,422 yen, and Canon climbed 105 yen, or some 3 percent, to 3,440 yen. Nikon gained 60 yen, or nearly 4 percent, to 1,608 yen.
Some 90 percent of the stocks on the First Section gained, with advancing issues outnumbering declining ones 1,498 to 101, and 62 others ending the morning unchanged.
Tracking overnight gains in financial shares on Wall Street, value leader Mitsubishi UFJ Financial Group rose 15 yen, or nearly 4 percent, to 429 yen, and volume leader Mizuho Financial Group was up 3 yen, or more than 2 percent, to 144 yen.
Trading volume on the main section came to 809.26 million shares, down from Wednesday morning's 817.36 million.
The TSE's Second Section index added 9.30 points, or 0.43 percent, to 2,150.19 on a volume of 8.01 million shares. On the Osaka Securities Exchange, the near-term September Nikkei 225 index futures contract was up 240 points to 9,530.
