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* Nikkei jumps 3 pct on first day of new financial year
* Dollar swings widely after gloomy BOJ tankan
* Foreign investors net buyers of Japanese stocks
By Rika Otsuka
TOKYO, April 1 (Reuters) - Japan's Nikkei average jumped 3
percent on Wednesday as new money flowed into the market on the
first day of the financial year, with exporters such as Sony Corp
<6758.T> rallying on a weaker yen.
Japan's top lender Mitsubishi UFJ Financial Group <8306.T>
and other banks advanced as investors took their cue from gains
in U.S. banking shares the previous day after British bank
Barclays <BARC.L> declined to take part in a government
asset-protection plan. []
Japanese institutional investors bought shares as the new
financial year began on Wednesday, while overseas players also
turned buyers.
"Global institutional investors are putting their funds back
into stocks after raising their cash holdings to the highest
levels ever, though Japanese stocks are unlikely to outperform
the rest of the global market," said Hitoshi Yamamoto, CEO of
Fortis Asset Management Japan.
Orders for Japanese stocks placed through 12 foreign
securities houses before the start of trade on Wednesday showed
overseas investors were net buyers.
Hefty selling by foreign investors has been one factor
keeping the Tokyo stock market under pressure in recent months.
Overseas investors have been net sellers of Japanese stocks
since July, according to the Ministry of Finance's monthly
capital flows data.
The benchmark Nikkei <> gained 242.15 points to
8,351.68. The average lost 8.5 percent in the January-March
quarter and 35.3 percent for the 2008/09 business year that ended
on Tuesday.
The broader Topix <> rose 2.9 percent to 795.75.
Japanese business confidence tumbled at its fastest pace on
record to an all-time low, the Bank of Japan's tankan corporate
survey showed, illustrating the plight of an economy in its worst
recession since World War Two. []
The dollar swung in a wide range of over 1 yen following the
data, causing the Nikkei to see-saw in early trade.
But the Nikkei started to climb after the foreign exchange
market regained its composure. The dollar was around 98.90 yen
<JPY>, off the day's low of 98.21 yen hit after the release of
the tankan and little changed from late U.S. trade. []
Financials buoyed the market, with Mitsubishi UFJ Financial
<8306.T> jumping 4 percent to 495 yen. Second-ranked Mizuho
Financial Group <8411.T> climbed 2.7 percent to 193 yen.
A rise in exporters also helped the overall market, with the
world's biggest automaker Toyota Motor Corp <7203.T> jumping 5.1
percent to 3,280 yen and Honda Motor Co <7267.T> surging 7.3
percent to 2,485 yen.
Honda said on Tuesday it would cut production in North
American by 62,000 vehicles and cut pay for salaried and factory
workers. []
Electronics giant Sony soared 6.1 percent to 2,120 yen.
PC chip maker Elpida Memory Inc <6665.T> rose 14.6 percent to
779 yen after Taiwan Memory Co, a new computer memory chip
company supported by the Taiwan government, said Elpida had been
confirmed as its memory partner. []
Trade fell off slightly, with 1 billion shares changing hands
on the Tokyo exchange's first section compared with last week's
morning average of 1.1 billion. Advancing shares outpaced
declining ones by nearly 3 to 1.
(Reporting by Rika Otsuka; Editing by Michael Watson)
