(Adds stocks and comments)
By Taiga Uranaka
TOKYO, May 15 (Reuters) - Japan's Nikkei share average rose 1
percent to a four-month high on Thursday, with Sony Corp <6758.T>
jumping 9 percent on its bigger-than-expected outlook.
Exporters such as Honda Motor Co Ltd <7267.T> also climbed on
a softer yen against the dollar.
"With the dollar regaining the 105 yen level, there are
expectations for earnings improvements as many companies assumed
100 yen in their outlook," said Norio Shimura, deputy head of
equity department at Chuo Securities.
"Sony's outlook gave a sense of reassurance to the market,"
he added.
The market also got a boost from steel shares such as Nippon
Steel Corp <5401.T> on a media report that they had reached a
broad agreement with Toyota Motor Corp <7203.T> to raise steel
prices by more than 30 percent. []
The benchmark Nikkei average <> ended the morning up
144.86 points at 14,263.41. The broader TOPIX index <>
gained 1.6 percent to 1,394.26.
With the Nikkei gaining ground above 14,000, market
participants said retail investors and other players who had been
on the sidelines were likely to be compelled back to the market.
"Some people are worried about not buying Japanese stocks" as
they fear they will miss an opportunity, said Fujio Ando, senior
managing director of Chibagin Asset Management.
SONY SHINES
Sony shares went untraded for half an hour after the start of
trade due to a flood of buy orders. The issue first changed hands
at its daily limit-high, up more than 10 percent.
It ended the morning up 9.1 percent at 5,290 yen, the biggest
contributor to the Nikkei.
Nomura Securities lifted its rating on Sony to "strong buy"
from "buy" following the company's results and forecasts.
[]
But some like Ando of Chibagin Asset Management said Sony's
sharp gain was rather helped by improving market sentiment.
"Its results were below consensus, and if we take that into
account, this year's projected profit growth is not that strong,"
he said.
"It's a typical market reaction seen since around the middle
of last month. Ignoring bad news and jumping on good news."
Nippon Steel rose 6 percent to 635 yen and JFE Holdings
<5411.T> jumped 4.8 percent to 5,890 yen.
"The market reacted positively to news that the steel makers
are actually able to pass on cost rises to automakers," said
Toshihiko Matsuno, assistant general manager of investment and
research department at SMBC Friend Securities.
Honda rose 3.9 percent to 3,450 yen, and Canon gained 1.8
percent to 5,630 yen.
Daikin Industries Ltd <6367.T> climbed 2.5 percent to 5,420
yen after the air conditioner maker said it expected its
operating profit to rise 9 percent to 140 billion yen for the
year ending in March 2009, with overseas sales likely to continue
to lead growth, though the outlook was below a mean forecast of
145 billion yen in a poll of 11 analysts by Reuters Estimates.
Trade picked up, with 1.13 billion shares changing hands,
compared with last week's morning average of 933 million.
Advancing shares beat declining ones by more than five to
one.
