* Nikkei boosted by bargain-hunting, but rise lacks energy
* Greece support news a plus, but eurozone uncertainty weighs
* Economic steps wearing off, uncertainty ahead -strategist
* Next target around 75-day moving average of 10,160 -analyst
By Aiko Hayashi
TOKYO, Feb 12 (Reuters) - Japan's Nikkei average rose 1
percent on Friday, with investors hunting bargains in exporters
and other shares after a pledge by European leaders to support
debt-laden Greece eased fears of a broader euro zone crisis.
Mitsubishi Corp <8058.T> and other resource shares gained
after metals rose on Chinese data showing banks had made a
stronger-than-forecast 1.39 trillion yuan of loans in January,
while consumer inflation moderated more than expected in the year
to January. []
European leaders said on Thursday they had struck a deal to
help heavily indebted Greece, an unprecedented move to stave off
a broader crisis in the 16-nation bloc that shares the euro
single currency. But no details were announced. []
"A series of negative factors such as concerns about Greece's
problems and China's tightening policy are now priced in. But we
still lack reasons to buy up the market further," said Masaru
Hamasaki, a senior strategist at Toyota Asset Management.
"Worldwide economic measures, which have helped improve
corporate earnings and the economy, are gradually coming to an
end and there's a sense of uncertainty about what will happen
after those programmes actually end."
Analysts also said that while recent risk aversion arising
from concern about the fiscal stability of Greece, Portugal and
Spain had eased enough to help all three Wall Street indexes rise
more than 1 percent, there were still many uncertainties about
the fiscal outlook for Europe.
"The pledge of support is basically just what you'd expect --
European leaders can hardly say they'll just ignore Greece," said
Kenichi Hirano, operating officer at Tachibana Securities.
"The really important thing is how they'll carry out this
support, and that's something we don't know yet. Gains in Tokyo
today are mainly due to bargain-hunting and will be limited."
The benchmark Nikkei <> was up 95.43 points at
10,059.42, while the broader Topix <> gained 0.8 percent to
890.24.
Hirano said support for the Nikkei was solidifying around the
level of its 200-day moving average just under 10,000 after the
benchmark broke below that earlier this week.
Its next target is 10,160, where its 75-day average currently
comes in, and then 10,275, where a gap was created on daily
charts during the Nikkei's slide last week. Chart gaps can
sometimes be targets to be filled in a correction.
Trading energy was also dampened by investor wariness ahead
of next week's Lunar New Year holiday in China, some market
players said.
EXPORTERS, RESOURCE STOCKS HELP
Exporters were one target of bargain-hunters, with Sony Corp
<6758.T> rising 1.2 percent to 3,055 yen and Toshiba Corp
<6502.T> gaining 1.2 percent to 425 yen.
Toyota Motor Corp <7203.T> rose 2.1 percent to 3,460 yen
after the Asahi newspaper reported that President Akio Toyoda
would attend U.S. congressional hearings set for Feb. 24-25 and
March 2 to explain a series of safety issues. []
Separately, the Yomuiri newspaper reported that in an effort
to regain its standing with customers, Toyota has decided to
publicise all car problems including the ones which are not
subject to recalls.
Copper rallied on Thursday to a two-week high and other
metals gained across the board also after the Chinese data, with
the lower inflation numbers easing fears of an imminent hike in
official benchmark deposit and lending rates. []
[]
Mitsubishi Corp climbed 3.2 percent to 2,224 yen and fellow
trader Mitsui & Co <8031.T> gained 4.7 percent to 1,339 yen.
Pacific Metals <5541.T>, a maker of ferronickel, jumped 6.8
percent to 614 yen.
Shares of Nippon Denko Co <5563.T> shot up 5.7 percent to 554
yen after Nippon Steel <5401.T> said it will raise its stake in
the ferroalloy maker to 15 percent from 9.5 percent as part of an
alliance between the two firms. []
Nippon Steel was down 0.3 percent at 322 yen.
Consumer finance firm Promise Co <8574.T> bucked the trend,
sliding 7 percent to 690 yen after the company's president told
Reuters he expects its outstanding loan balance to shrink by
about 30 percent in the next three years due to stricter
regulations. []
(Additional reporting by Elaine Lies; Editing by Edwina Gibbs)
