By Rika Otsuka
TOKYO, Dec 24 (Reuters) - Japan's Nikkei average rose 1.5 percent to post a three-month closing high on Thursday as a weaker yen boosted exporters, while Canon Inc soared after it won approval from EU regulators for its takeover of a Dutch firm.
Japan Tobacco jumped after saying it would raise cigarette prices by more than a government tax hike, while Kirin advanced after a newspaper reported the beer maker and rival Suntory Holdings are close to agreeing to a merger ratio.
Aiful Corp surged 8.8 percent to 136 yen after the Japanese consumer finance firm said it had won the backing of all its creditors to reschedule debt payments, giving a critical boost to its restructuring plans.
High-tech shares stood out among exporters following a rally in their U.S. rivals the previous day on solid earnings from Micron Technology Inc and Red Hat Inc.
'Concerns about a stronger yen and massive new share issuances that had previously put pressure on share prices have waned a little,' said Yoshinori Nagano, senior strategist at Daiwa Asset Management.
'So the stock market can now benefit from the improving global economy and better corporate earnings.'
The Nikkei climbed 158.89 points to 10,536.92, its highest since Sept. 24.
It may rise further to test the year's closing high of 10,639 if the yen's weakness persists, analysts said.
The broader Topix added 1.2 percent to 913.72.
Japanese markets were closed on Wednesday for a national holiday.
The dollar dipped against the yen on Thursday, but stayed close to a two-month high hit near 92 yen earlier this week. Investors cheer a weaker yen as it boosts exporters' profits when they are repatriated.
Overseas investors such as trend-following CTA accounts bought Japanese stocks, which have lagged a rise in overseas shares, traders said.
Trade was light on the Tokyo exchange's first section, with 1.9 billion shares changing hands, below last week's daily average of 2.1 billion.
Advancing stocks outnumbered declining ones by more than 2 to
1.
TECHS LEAD
Chip-tester maker Advantest climbed 5.1 percent to 2,455 yen and Tokyo Electron Ltd, the world's No.2 semiconductor equipment maker, also gained 4.4 percent to 5,980 yen. Sony Corp added 1.3 percent to 2,685 yen.
Copier and digital camera maker Canon surged 6.1 percent to 4,020 yen after it won approval from EU competition regulators for its takeover of Dutch copier and printer maker Oce.
Other exporters were also firmer, with the world's biggest automaker, Toyota Motor Corp, rising 2.4 percent to 3,890 yen and Honda Motor Co gaining 1 percent to 3,110 yen.
Japan Tobacco shares shot up 5.2 percent to 324,000 yen after the company said it would raise cigarette prices by more than the government's tax hike, aiming to offset an expected decline in demand in the world's third-largest cigarette market.
Kirin jumped 3.9 percent to 1,484 yen. Kirin and Suntory may agree to a merger ratio that would give the founding family of Suntory a more than 33.4 percent stake in the merged firm, allowing them to veto board decisions, the Nikkei business daily said.
But Kirin said in a statement it had not made an announcement on the matter and that the report was based on speculation.
(Additional reporting by Aiko Hayashi; Editing by Joseph Radford)
((rika.otsuka@thomsonreuters.com; +81-3-6441-1874; Reuters Messaging: rika.otsuka.reuters.com@reuters.net))
((If you have a query or comment on this story, send an email to news.feedback.asia@thomsonreuters.com))
Keywords: MARKETS JAPAN STOCKS (Multimedia versions of Reuters Top News are now available for: * 3000 Xtra : visit http://topnews.session.rservices.com * BridgeStation: view story .134 * Reuters Plus: from your WebDSS screen For more information on Top News, visit http://topnews.reuters.com) COPYRIGHT Copyright Thomson Reuters 2009. All rights reserved. The copying, republication or redistribution of Reuters News Content, including by framing or similar means, is expressly prohibited without the prior written consent of Thomson Reuters.
TOKYO, Dec 24 (Reuters) - Japan's Nikkei average rose 1.5 percent to post a three-month closing high on Thursday as a weaker yen boosted exporters, while Canon Inc soared after it won approval from EU regulators for its takeover of a Dutch firm.
Japan Tobacco jumped after saying it would raise cigarette prices by more than a government tax hike, while Kirin advanced after a newspaper reported the beer maker and rival Suntory Holdings are close to agreeing to a merger ratio.
Aiful Corp surged 8.8 percent to 136 yen after the Japanese consumer finance firm said it had won the backing of all its creditors to reschedule debt payments, giving a critical boost to its restructuring plans.
High-tech shares stood out among exporters following a rally in their U.S. rivals the previous day on solid earnings from Micron Technology Inc and Red Hat Inc.
'Concerns about a stronger yen and massive new share issuances that had previously put pressure on share prices have waned a little,' said Yoshinori Nagano, senior strategist at Daiwa Asset Management.
'So the stock market can now benefit from the improving global economy and better corporate earnings.'
The Nikkei climbed 158.89 points to 10,536.92, its highest since Sept. 24.
It may rise further to test the year's closing high of 10,639 if the yen's weakness persists, analysts said.
The broader Topix added 1.2 percent to 913.72.
Japanese markets were closed on Wednesday for a national holiday.
The dollar dipped against the yen on Thursday, but stayed close to a two-month high hit near 92 yen earlier this week. Investors cheer a weaker yen as it boosts exporters' profits when they are repatriated.
Overseas investors such as trend-following CTA accounts bought Japanese stocks, which have lagged a rise in overseas shares, traders said.
Trade was light on the Tokyo exchange's first section, with 1.9 billion shares changing hands, below last week's daily average of 2.1 billion.
Advancing stocks outnumbered declining ones by more than 2 to
1.
TECHS LEAD
Chip-tester maker Advantest climbed 5.1 percent to 2,455 yen and Tokyo Electron Ltd, the world's No.2 semiconductor equipment maker, also gained 4.4 percent to 5,980 yen. Sony Corp added 1.3 percent to 2,685 yen.
Copier and digital camera maker Canon surged 6.1 percent to 4,020 yen after it won approval from EU competition regulators for its takeover of Dutch copier and printer maker Oce.
Other exporters were also firmer, with the world's biggest automaker, Toyota Motor Corp, rising 2.4 percent to 3,890 yen and Honda Motor Co gaining 1 percent to 3,110 yen.
Japan Tobacco shares shot up 5.2 percent to 324,000 yen after the company said it would raise cigarette prices by more than the government's tax hike, aiming to offset an expected decline in demand in the world's third-largest cigarette market.
Kirin jumped 3.9 percent to 1,484 yen. Kirin and Suntory may agree to a merger ratio that would give the founding family of Suntory a more than 33.4 percent stake in the merged firm, allowing them to veto board decisions, the Nikkei business daily said.
But Kirin said in a statement it had not made an announcement on the matter and that the report was based on speculation.
(Additional reporting by Aiko Hayashi; Editing by Joseph Radford)
((rika.otsuka@thomsonreuters.com; +81-3-6441-1874; Reuters Messaging: rika.otsuka.reuters.com@reuters.net))
((If you have a query or comment on this story, send an email to news.feedback.asia@thomsonreuters.com))
Keywords: MARKETS JAPAN STOCKS (Multimedia versions of Reuters Top News are now available for: * 3000 Xtra : visit http://topnews.session.rservices.com * BridgeStation: view story .134 * Reuters Plus: from your WebDSS screen For more information on Top News, visit http://topnews.reuters.com) COPYRIGHT Copyright Thomson Reuters 2009. All rights reserved. The copying, republication or redistribution of Reuters News Content, including by framing or similar means, is expressly prohibited without the prior written consent of Thomson Reuters.
© 2009 AFX News
