Nikkei gains 0.4 percent as resource, chip shares rise

By Shinichi Saoshiro

TOKYO (Reuters) - Japan's Nikkei stock average gained 0.4 percent on Wednesday, with resource- and semiconductor-linked shares rising after a surprise surge in U.S. pending home sales added to hopes that the global recession may be easing.

Glassmakers such as Asahi Glass (5201.T) climbed after a slew of brokerage upgrades that cited long-term signs of hope for the economy.

Toshiba Corp (6502.T) rose in heavy trade ahead of a rebalancing of the Topix and MSCI .MSCIJP indexes due to the company's massive public stock offering.

The benchmark Nikkei .N225 rose 37.36 points to 9,741.67, closing at an eight-month high.

Investors remained wary, though, with market rises capped by profit-taking amid a lack of fresh trading factors and looming resistance levels.

"In increasing number of indicators suggested the market may be overheating, prompting profit-taking," said Soichiro Monji, chief strategist at Daiwa SB Investments.

"But the market is holding up well despite signs of overheating, encouraged by upbeat data from around the world released this week, from China's manufacturing numbers and U.S. pending home sales to the Australian GDP," said Monji.

Australia's economy expanded by 0.4 percent in the first quarter, beating forecasts for a 0.2 percent rise, data showed on Wednesday.

Market participants are awaiting U.S. data on Wednesday, including durable goods orders, for further signs of a recovery after April U.S. pending home sales showed a 6.7 percent jump, the biggest monthly gain in 7- years.

Tokyo's broader Topix index rose 0.1 percent to 914.50 on Wednesday, posting its ninth day of gains over the last 12 days.

Buoyed by rises in prices of industrial metals like copper and nickel, smelter Sumitomo Metal Mining (5713.T) gained 5.5 percent to 1,481 yen and Nippon Mining Holdings (5016.T) rose 5 percent to 569 yen. Dowa Holdings (5714.T) climbed 4.3 percent to 463 yen.

Asahi Glass (5201.T) climbed 5.4 percent to 768 yen after an upgrade by Goldman Sachs, the latest in a slew of upgrades this week. Following upgrades by JPMorgan on Monday and Mizuho Securities on Tuesday, Goldman Sachs lifted its rating to "buy" from "neutral" and put it on its conviction buy list.

"Potential upside catalysts for the shares are a profit overshoot versus guidance and macro indicators such as stronger auto production and construction starts," wrote Goldman Sachs analyst Mari Murakami.

J.P. Morgan initiated coverage of Nippon Electric Glass (5214.T) at "overweight" and Nippon Sheet Glass (5202.T) at "neutral."

Nippon Electric Glass gained 8.2 percent to 998 yen and Nippon Sheet Glass rose 1.8 percent to 282 yen.