By Aiko Hayashi
TOKYO, March 1 (Reuters) - Japan's Nikkei average rose 0.5 percent on Monday, with metal shares such as Sumitomo Metal Mining Co climbing on a jump in copper prices after a massive earthquake hit Chile, the world's No. 1 copper producer.
Japan's three biggest banks, including Mitsubishi UFJ Financial Group, rose after JP Morgan upgraded them to 'overweight', citing bank stocks' historical tendency to rally in spring and decreasing risks to their earnings.
Domestic demand stocks such as detergent and cosmetics maker Kao Corp gained as exporters lost ground on concerns about the yen's strength.
'Defensive stocks and those that will benefit from the strong yen are being picked up. But the overall market still lacks convincing reasons to buy and trade will likely be range-bound,' said Fumiyuki Nakanishi, manager at SMBC Friend Securities.
'There may be a view in the market that resources will be bought after Chile's quake, but given worries about economic growth in Europe, gains in the price of resources will likely be limited.'
The benchmark Nikkei rose 48.41 points to 10,174.44, after rising 0.2 percent on Friday.
The index was almost unchanged on the week last week, while it shed 0.7 percent for the month of February.
The broader Topix added 0.6 percent to 899.83.
Copper jumped on Monday after an 8.8 magnitude earthquake struck Chile on Saturday.
It killed more than 700 people as it toppled buildings, knocked down the country's infrastructure and triggered tsunami waves hitting Pacific coastlines as far as Japan and the Russian far east.
Sumitomo Metal Mining Co, Japan's second-largest copper smelter, jumped 2.4 percent to 1,292 yen, while Dowa Holdings gained 2.6 percent to 515 yen. Mitsui Mining & Smelting advanced 2.1 percent to 249 yen.
But exporters fell due to a stronger yen. The dollar was trading around 88.95, after rising above 89 yen earlier.
Toyota Motor Corp inched down 0.6 percent to 3,310 yen, after news that a U.S. congressional panel has found evidence Toyota routinely withheld company records it should have turned over in court and settled personal injury cases to avoid revealing key engineering data dubbed the 'Books of Knowledge.'
Separately, Toyota's president plans a news conference in Beijing on Monday as the automaker looks to limit the damage from a massive global recall on the fast-growing Chinese market.
(Editing by Edwina Gibbs)
((aiko.hayashi@thomsonreuters.com; Reuters Messaging: aiko.hayashi.reuters.com@reuters.net; +81 3 6441 1802))
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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 2010. 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, March 1 (Reuters) - Japan's Nikkei average rose 0.5 percent on Monday, with metal shares such as Sumitomo Metal Mining Co climbing on a jump in copper prices after a massive earthquake hit Chile, the world's No. 1 copper producer.
Japan's three biggest banks, including Mitsubishi UFJ Financial Group, rose after JP Morgan upgraded them to 'overweight', citing bank stocks' historical tendency to rally in spring and decreasing risks to their earnings.
Domestic demand stocks such as detergent and cosmetics maker Kao Corp gained as exporters lost ground on concerns about the yen's strength.
'Defensive stocks and those that will benefit from the strong yen are being picked up. But the overall market still lacks convincing reasons to buy and trade will likely be range-bound,' said Fumiyuki Nakanishi, manager at SMBC Friend Securities.
'There may be a view in the market that resources will be bought after Chile's quake, but given worries about economic growth in Europe, gains in the price of resources will likely be limited.'
The benchmark Nikkei rose 48.41 points to 10,174.44, after rising 0.2 percent on Friday.
The index was almost unchanged on the week last week, while it shed 0.7 percent for the month of February.
The broader Topix added 0.6 percent to 899.83.
Copper jumped on Monday after an 8.8 magnitude earthquake struck Chile on Saturday.
It killed more than 700 people as it toppled buildings, knocked down the country's infrastructure and triggered tsunami waves hitting Pacific coastlines as far as Japan and the Russian far east.
Sumitomo Metal Mining Co, Japan's second-largest copper smelter, jumped 2.4 percent to 1,292 yen, while Dowa Holdings gained 2.6 percent to 515 yen. Mitsui Mining & Smelting advanced 2.1 percent to 249 yen.
But exporters fell due to a stronger yen. The dollar was trading around 88.95, after rising above 89 yen earlier.
Toyota Motor Corp inched down 0.6 percent to 3,310 yen, after news that a U.S. congressional panel has found evidence Toyota routinely withheld company records it should have turned over in court and settled personal injury cases to avoid revealing key engineering data dubbed the 'Books of Knowledge.'
Separately, Toyota's president plans a news conference in Beijing on Monday as the automaker looks to limit the damage from a massive global recall on the fast-growing Chinese market.
(Editing by Edwina Gibbs)
((aiko.hayashi@thomsonreuters.com; Reuters Messaging: aiko.hayashi.reuters.com@reuters.net; +81 3 6441 1802))
((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 2010. 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.