Nikkei rises 0.3 pct, exporters up, tracking Wall St
(Updates to midmorning)
TOKYO, May 13 (Reuters) - Japan's Nikkei share average edged up 0.3 percent on Tuesday, tracking overnight gains on Wall Street, led by exporters such as Canon Inc (7751.T) on a softer yen.
The market also got a lift from Dentsu Inc (4324.T) after Japan's top advertising company announced that it would spend up to 60 billion yen ($580 million) to buy back nearly 11 percent of its own stock.
Bank shares such as Mizuho Financial Group (8411.T) climbed after struggling bond insurer MBIA Inc (MBI.N) posted a huge loss but beat expectations.
"The Tokyo market rose following Wall Street's gains, and investors bought up firms with good results," said Fumiyuki Nakanishi, group manager of the investment research department at SMBC Friend Securities.
Still, rises were limited as investors were quick to lock in recent gains, with resistance seen for the Nikkei average at the five-day moving average of around 13,800.
As of 0051 GMT, the benchmark Nikkei average .N225 was up 42.90 points at 13,786.26. The broader TOPIX index gained 0.5 percent to 1,349.44.
Digital camera maker Canon rose 2.1 percent to 5,370 yen, the biggest contributor to the Nikkei.
The dollar traded at 103.80 yen JPY=, down a bit from late New York trade but comfortably above Monday's low hit below 103.
Dentsu jumped 8 percent to 258,000 yen. The firm posted its first annual profit fall in six years and forecast a smaller-than-expected recovery this year as a sluggish economy offsets a boost from the Beijing Olympics. [ID:nT235656]
Mizuho, Japan's No. 2 bank, rose 2.4 percent to 521,000 yen.
Earth-moving equipment makers Komatsu Ltd (6301.T) and Hitachi Construction Machinery Co Ltd (6305.T) rose sharply, as some market analysts noted speculation of a jump in demand for bulldozers and cranes in connection with a massive earthquake in China.
Komatsu gained 3.2 percent to 3,200 yen and Hitachi Construction climbed 4.6 percent to 3,400 yen. (Reporting by Taiga Uranaka; Editing by Chris Gallagher)
