Roundup: Tokyo stocks buoyed by upbeat U.S. earning

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TOKYO, Oct 20, 2009 (Xinhua via COMTEX) -- KYO | Quote | Chart | News | PowerRating -- Japan's 225-issue Nikkei Stock Average rose 0.98 percent Tuesday to it's highest close in almost a month.

Tech shares like Kyocera Corp. were buoyed by numerous upbeat quarterly earnings from U.S. companies which contributed to gains Tuesday of 100.33 points from Monday to 10,336.84, it's highest close since Sept. 24.

The broader Topix index of all First Section issues on the Tokyo Stock Exchange was up 7.65 points to 913.45, further improving on gains made Monday.

Following the release of Apple Inc's quarterly results released after the closing bell U.S. stock futures rose 0.3 causing Apple shares to jump 7.5 percent in after-hours trading to a record high.

Apple's increased profits of 47 percent in its most profitable quarter ever, totaling 1.67 billion dollars. This by far exceed analysts' expectations and shocked Wall Street, but the continued popularity of its iPhone and MacBook computers has been cited as ecumenical factors in the company's recent earnings.

"We are thrilled with these results," Apple Chief Financial Officer Peter Oppenheimer said during a conference call with analysts, "particularly given the economic environment around us."

On the back of Apple's unexpected results and other positive U. S. earnings, waves of optimism were felt particularly in tech- share sectors in Japan, which fueled buying.

Nikon Corp, the world's No. 2 maker of chip steppers, climbed 1. 8 percent to 1,779 yen, whilst Kyocera Corp. gained 1.5 percent Tuesday to 8,110 yen. Tokyo Electron Ltd. rose 0.9 percent to 5, 740 yen.

"The Tokyo market is resilient as major stocks around the world are on the rise and optimism over the U.S. quarterly earnings remains extremely strong," said a Japanese brokerage equity manager.

"Buying was spurred mostly by cues from abroad, while the yen's advance in the afternoon also prompted some selling," he said.

"These U.S. results are inevitably providing a bit of a boost, particularly for parts suppliers and chip makers, while a whole range of China-linked shares are also doing well," said Koichi Ogawa, Chief Portfolio Manager at Daiwa SB Investments.

Following positive expectation of strong economic growth in China ahead of GDP data due to be released later this week, shares in companies with a large exposure to the Chinese market, such as Hitachi Construction Machinery Co. Ltd., were on the rise Tuesday, further bolstered by a senior Chinese official stating Monday that the country would have, "no difficulty reaching the government's full-year GDP growth target of 8 percent." Hitachi Construction gained 1.8 percent to 2,265 yen.

Coupled with these growth expectations, the fact that China has stimulus measures ready to implement should growth show signs of slowing had buyers and investors more than content in today's trading.

"Another source of reassurance comes from the view in the market that China would probably come up with additional stimulus measures if its economic growth rate were to slow down," said Takahiko Murai, general manager of equities at Nozomi Securities.

Komatsu Ltd. the world's second-biggest maker of construction equipment, rose 1.7 percent to 1,827 yen after reports revealed the company had made operating profits amounting 10 billion yen (U. S. 110 million dollars) in the July-September quarter, following increased business from China and other developing markets.

Gains in oil-related shares after crude oil futures hit a new one-year high in New York and continued buy-backs in financial shares also buoyed the market, though gains were trimmed slightly in afternoon trading as the yen strengthened against the U.S. dollar, according to brokers. Shares in oil and gas field developer Inpex jumped 3.5 percent to 828,000 yen.

Mitsubishi Corp. gained 2.8 percent to 2,040 yen, whilst Mitsui & Co. rose 2.3 percent to 1,292 yen. Sojitz added 2.3 percent to close at 178 yen.

Asahi Glass Co. Ltd (Liquid crystal display glassmakers) and Nippon Electric Glass rose after bigger Corning Inc., the largest maker of glass for LCD screens, said a power disruption at its LCD plant in Taichung would be detrimental to its glass production.

In a robust day of trading Advancing companies comprehensively reversed Monday's trend by outperforming Decliners by 1247 to 402 across both First and Second Sections of trade Tuesday, whilst 246 Listed Companies remained unchanged at the close.

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