* Nikkei rises 1.1 pct after opening tad lower
* Exporters gain on yen as investors pick up beaten shares
* Sony slips after unveiling restructuring plans
(Adds stocks, details)
By Aiko Hayashi
TOKYO, Dec 10 (Reuters) - The Nikkei average gained 1.1
percent on Wednesday, helped by gains in exporters such as Tokyo
Electron <8035.T> as the yen softened, while investors took some
comfort from machinery orders data that some said was not as bad
as they had feared.
Investors were buying recently sold-off shares and selling
those that had been rising on expectations of global stimulus
efforts, rather than reacting to specific news, said Yoshinori
Nagano, a chief strategist at Daiwa Asset Management.
"The machinery data also provided some relief as it was in
line with forecasts, though it wouldn't have been a surprise even
if it posted a two-digit fall considering economic activity
almost stalled in September-November after Lehman's failure."
Sony Corp <6758.T> slipped 1.5 percent after the company said
it would cut 16,000 jobs, curb investment and pull out of some
businesses to save $1.1 billion a year as the financial crisis
ravages demand for its electronics products. []
[]
The job cuts were the biggest announced by an Asian firm so
far in the global financial crisis.
The benchmark Nikkei <> added 95.68 points to 8,491.55,
after opening slightly lower.
The broader Topix <> rose 0.6 percent to 822.50.
Japan's core machinery orders fell a bigger than expected 4.4
percent in October, underlining weakness in corporate capital
spending as the economy slides deeper into recession.
[]
The dollar was trading around 92.50 yen <JPY=> in Tokyo after
touching 91.94 yen in New York, giving a little relief to
Japanese exporters repatriating profits made overseas.
EXPORTERS GAIN
Shares of Tokyo Electron shot up 6.8 percent to 2,610 yen and
Kyocera Corp <6971.T> added 3 percent to 6,490 yen, while Honda
Motor Co <7267.T> climbed 4.3 percent to 1,925 yen.
Takahiko Murai, general manager of equities at Nozomi
Securities, said he expected to see other companies follow suit
after Sony's restructuring plans.
"The news reaffirmed investors' dire outlook on corporate
earnings, underscoring Japan's biggest problem, which is that the
country depends on overseas demand for growth," he said.
Sony shares slid 1.5 percent to 1,868 yen.
Mid-sized property developers and REITs rallied after the
Nikkei business daily said the Japanese government would extend
credit lines of up to 2 billion yen ($21.7 million) to
cash-strapped small and midsized developers to help them avoid
bankruptcy.
Property developer Tokyu Land Corp <8815.T> soared 17.5
percent to 322 yen, while among REITs, Pacific Holdings Inc
<8902.T> surged 15.2 percent to 3,780 yen.
Big Japanese property firms also gained, with Mitsubishi
Estate <8802.T> jumping 6.8 percent to 1,406 yen.
Shares of Elpida Memory <6665.T> advanced 5.6 percent to 417
yen ahead of a deadline on Thursday that will likely trigger the
redemption of a 50 billion yen ($542.7 million) convertible bond
that could have led to a huge rise in the number of its
outstanding shares. []
Drugmakers fell after rising recently on the view that they
are relatively resilient in the face of the global economic
downturn. Astellas Pharma <4503.T> slid 4 percent to 3,600 yen
and Takeda Pharmaceutical <4502.T> shed 1.3 percent to 4,470 yen.
Trade was active on the Tokyo exchange's first section, with
880 million shares changing hands, compared with last week's
morning average of 791 million.
Advancers and decliners were exactly matched at 780 apiece.
(Reporting by Aiko Hayashi; Editing by Hugh Lawson)
