Nikkei up nearly 6 percent, exporters rise

TOKYO (Reuters) - Japan's Nikkei average rose 5.9 percent on Tuesday, boosted as exporters such as Toyota Motor Corp (7203.T) climbed, with electronics maker Panasonic (6752.T) jumping after sources said it was planning to take over Sanyo Electric (6764.T).

Shares of big Japanese banks such as Mitsubishi UFJ Financial Group (8306.T) and Mizuho Financial Group (8411.T) advanced after Credit Suisse raised its stance on the sector to "overweight," saying that all bad earnings news is likely out after a series of profit warnings last week.

But trade was moderately thin, with many investors reluctant to buy actively ahead of the U.S. presidential election, a trend that also dampened trading activity in New York on Monday, when Japanese markets were closed for a holiday. .N

"While people are holding back a bit ahead of the election, their big concern is less who wins than whether the result will be decided quickly or not," said Takashi Ushio, head of the investment strategy division at Marusan Securities.

"The worst thing would be an extended political vacuum."

In 2000, the election won by U.S. President George W. Bush was not finally decided until well into December.

A wave of short-covering after the Nikkei slid more than 5 percent on Friday to cap the worst month in its 58-year history boosted shares across the board.

The benchmark Nikkei was up 5.9 percent, a gain of 505.97 points, at 9,082.95 at 0511 GMT. The broader Topix was up 5.1 percent at 911.55.

Toyota climbed 5.4 percent to 3,920 yen and Mitsubishi UFJ Financial Group rose 6.5 percent to 636 yen. Sumitomo Mitsui Financial Group (8316.T) gained 7.6 percent to 412,000 yen.

(Reporting by Elaine Lies; Editing by Chris Gallagher)