Nikkei rises 1.3 pct; banks gain, Matsushita jumps
(Updates to late morning)
TOKYO, July 30 (Reuters) - The Nikkei average rose 1.3 percent on Wednesday, boosted by financial shares after U.S. stocks jumped on receding credit fears, while Matsushita Electric Industrial Co (6752.T) shot up on solid earning results.
But investors dumped Sony Corp (6758.T) after it posted a bigger-than-expected 47 percent fall in quarterly profit and cut its outlook, hurt by its struggling mobile phone joint venture with Sweden's Ericsson (ERICb.ST). [ID:nT38464]
"Financial shares are moving higher after U.S. banks led a rebound in the U.S. market. On the whole, the market likes the yen trading in the 108s (versus the dollar) and the jump in U.S. stocks," said Junichi Misawa, executive officer at STB Asset Management.
"Japanese corporate earnings will drive the market from now on. Earnings drew a clear contrast between Sony, whose results were a bit of a negative surprise, and Matsushita, whose results were a positive surprise."
As of 0127 GMT, the benchmark Nikkei .N225 had added 165.72 points to 13,325.17, trading above its 25-day moving average.
The broader Topix climbed 1.4 percent to 1,299.11.
U.S. stocks rebounded on Tuesday, rising more than 2 percent on another sharp slide in oil prices and after Merrill Lynch's MER.N latest write-down and share sale hinted at a possible turning point in the credit crisis. [.N]
The dollar JPY= was hovering around 108 yen, having regained that level in New York trading. Investors welcome a softer yen as it boosts exporters' overseas profits when they are brought back home.
Top lender Mitsubishi UFJ Financial Group (8306.T) rose 1.5 percent to 972 yen and No.2 Mizuho Financial Group (8411.T) added 1.7 percent to 539,000 yen.
Matsushita jumped 6.7 percent to 2,325 yen, one of the biggest positive contributors to the Nikkei 225, after the company reported an 86 percent rise in quarterly net profit to a record 73 billion yen, helped by strong sales of flat TVs. [ID:nT38464]
Sony slid 3.1 percent to 4,080 yen, the biggest drag on the Nikkei 225. (Reporting by Aiko Hayashi; Editing by Hugh Lawson)
