Japan corp pensions post 8.6 pct profit-survey

TOKYO Oct 8 (Reuters) - Japanese corporate pension funds posted a profit of 8.6 percent on their investments in the six months that ended in September due to sharp gains in global share prices, a survey by a U.S. consultancy showed on Thursday.

But a rise in the yen and falls in Japanese stocks partially offset gains made from foreign stocks, limiting profits in July-September to 1.5 percent, said Watson Wyatt WW.N, which surveys about 120 pensions on a quarterly basis.

Corporate pensions posted a record loss of 17.1 percent during the previous financial year ended in March.

Watson Wyatt said a big recovery in global share prices was the reason behind the strong performance in April-September.

But domestic stocks have been undermined by the strength of the yen and uncertainty over the policies of the country's new government.

Japanese share prices have lagged behind other key markets such as New York and Hong Kong.

Japan's benchmark Nikkei average .N225 has dropped nearly 7 percent since the Democratic Party was elected in August, while the Dow Jones industrial average .DJI has climbed 2.4 percent and the Hang Seng Index .HSI has risen nearly 8 percent in the same time.

The yen's rise against the dollar JPY= has picked up momentum since August.

On Thursday, the Japanese currency stood at around 88.20 against the greenback, within range of January's 13-year high of 87.10. (Reporting by Michiko Iwasaki and Chikafumi Hodo; Editing by Joseph Radford)