Nikkei up as China worries subside
(Adds stocks and comment)
By David Dolan
TOKYO, May 31 (Reuters) - The Nikkei average gained more than 1 percent on Thursday as investors bought back shares of technology firms such as Kyocera Corp. (6971.T) after gains on Wall Street eased concerns about China's stock sell-off.
Shares of Risa Partners (8924.T) rose more than 4 percent after the real estate investment firm's president told Reuters on Wednesday the firm is likely to buy an asset management company or financial services company in the next three years to expand its business. [ID:nT76300]
Market participants said sentiment was strong, even as China's benchmark Shanghai Composite Index .SSEC swung widely in volatile trade. In the previous session, the Chinese index plunged 6.5 percent and raised concerns about a global stock sell-off.
A rally on Wall Street, however, erased much of the immediate concern about a global slump, participants said.
"This is something we've seen two or three times before, so the market is starting to adapt," said Nagayuki Yamagishi, strategist at Mitsubishi UFJ Securities.
The Nikkei .N225 finished the morning up 193.15 points at 17,781.41.
The broader TOPIX index gained 0.85 percent to 1,748.44.
Trade was active with 1 billion shares changing hands on the Tokyo exchange's first section. Advancers beat decliners by a ratio of three to one.
TECHS GAIN
Shares of technology firms were among the advancers. Kyocera added 2.3 percent to 11,890 yen. TDK Corp. (6762.T) gained 1.7 percent to 10,970 yen.
But shares of Victor Co. of Japan Ltd. 6792.T, or JVC, 6792.T lost 0.9 percent to 529 yen after the struggling consumer electronics maker on Wednesday forecast a net loss of 10.5 billion yen ($86.34 million) for the business year to March 2008, hit by 16 billion yen in restructuring costs.
It would be JVC's fourth straight year of net losses. [ID:nT77228]
Shares of Mitsubishi Heavy Industries Ltd. (7011.T) gained 2.2 percent to 737 yen after the company announced it won an order for 788 wind turbine power generation systems from five U.S. power companies in a deal reportedly worth 160 billion yen ($1.32 billion). [ID:nT297601]
Shares of Matsushita Electric Industrial Co. (6752.T) fell 0.4 percent to 2,550 yen after the company said it would exchange parts of up to three million microwave ovens, refrigerators and dryers free of charge as they may emit smoke and catch fire. [ID:nT92195]
