* Nikkei up 1.1 pct in holiday-thinned trade
* Investors scoop up Toyota, other battered shares
* JFE tumbles as its unit JEF Steel plans output cut
(Adds stocks, details)
By Aiko Hayashi
TOKYO, Dec 26 (Reuters) - The Nikkei share average rose 1.1
percent on Friday as investors picked up battered stocks such as
Toyota Motor Corp <7203.T> near the end of the year, but gains
were capped by persistent concern over the economy.
In a sign of the impact of the economic downturn, JFE
Holdings <5411.T> tumbled more than 6 percent after its unit JFE
Steel stepped up planned output cuts in the face of plunging
demand and became the first Japanese player to shut a blast
furnace. []
"The market kept up yesterday's sentiment as currency moves
were stable amid market holidays overseas. Past experience also
shows that stock prices tend to gain around the year-end and the
start of the year on hopes for the coming year," said Yutaka
Miura, a senior technical analyst at Shinko Securities.
"But it's not as if investors can keep buying this time
around as the outlook for the economy is murky."
The benchmark Nikkei <> added 96.27 points to 8,695.77
It rose 1 percent the previous day, when trading volume on the
Tokyo exchange's first section hit its lowest since May 2005,
excluding half-day sessions.
On Friday morning, 535 million shares changed hands, well
below last week's morning average of 898 million.
The broader Topix <> gained 0.7 percent to 841.47.
The dollar edged up against the yen <JPY=>, providing some
support to exporter shares.
U.S. markets were closed on Thursday for Christmas, and they
reopen on Friday. In Asia, Hong Kong's stock market remains shut
on Friday and will reopen on Monday.
The Tokyo bourse will end the year with a half day of trading
next Tuesday and reopen on Jan. 5.
"The only notable market-moving factor until the end of the
year will be trade related to window-dressing," said Katsuhiko
Kodama, a senior strategist at Toyo Securities, referring to a
strategy used to boost the performance of a portfolio near the
end of a year or quarter.
The market shrugged off a series of downbeat economic
indicators, including data showing industrial production plunged
a record 8.1 percent in November from the previous month, while
the ratio of jobs available to those looking for work fell to a
nearly five-year low. []
JFE DROPS, TOYOTA GAINS
Shares of JFE Holdings sank 6.1 percent to 2,325 yen.
Toyota Motor Corp <7203.T> gained 1.4 percent to 2,885 yen
and Honda Motor Co <7267.T> climbed 1 percent to 1,868 yen.
Other recent losers rose, with Canon Inc <7751.T> up 0.6
percent at 2,715 yen and Kyocera Corp <6971.T> jumping 3.5
percent to 6,290 yen.
So-called defensive stocks also rose in the face of the
economic downturn. Kao Corp <4452.T>, Japan's largest toiletry
goods maker, added 0.7 percent to 2,725 yen after saying it aimed
to be a fully fledged global player with its overseas revenue
ratio rising as high as 60 percent by 2020. []
But Nissin Foods Holdings Co <2897.T> fell 0.9 percent to
3,160 yen after the Japanese instant noodle maker said it would
buy a one-third stake in the parent firm of Russia's largest
maker of instant noodles for about 26.8 billion yen ($296.1
million). []
(Reporting by Aiko Hayashi; Editing by Hugh Lawson)
