Nikkei edges up as exporters rebound

TOKYO (Reuters) - Japan's Nikkei average edged up 0.1 percent on Wednesday as Sony Corp (6758.T) and other exporters rebounded after sharp falls the day before, but worries about corporate earnings limited gains.

Fujitsu Ltd (6702.T) and Toshiba Corp (6502.T) climbed around 4 percent after Toshiba said it was in talks to buy Fujitsu's hard-disk drive business, a deal that would create the world's largest maker of hard disk drives.

Nissan Motor Co (7201.T) was up but off earlier highs after sources said Chrysler is in talks to sell key assets to Renault-Nissan and auto supplier Magna. [ID:nN13428466] But gains were limited by long-term worry about the economy, with investors reluctant to buy after a series of companies both in Japan and overseas, including Sony, predicted losses.

"Investors are very nervous and waiting for earnings, and even though the market is factoring in poor earnings, nobody is willing to buy," said Koichi Ogawa, chief portfolio manager at Daiwa SB Investments.

"There appears to be some buying by pension funds despite a lack of active reasons to buy right now, just a sense that the pace of the economic worsening will slow from April to June."

The benchmark Nikkei .N225 eked out a gain of 9.69 points to 8,423.60, while the broader Topix rose 0.7 percent to 819.83.

Trade was light, with much of the activity centered around short-term traders who were focused on yen movements, with the Nikkei gaining ground as the yen weakened against the dollar and vice versa.

The dollar was fetching around 89.46 yen by midafternoon, above a three-week low hit earlier this week and near December's 13- year trough just above 87 yen. A stronger yen eats into exporters' overseas profits when repatriated and makes companies products less competitive. Fujitsu advanced 4.3 percent to 411 yen, while shares of Toshiba climbed 3.9 percent to 400 yen. The Nikkei business daily earlier reported the deal would likely be worth 30-40 billion yen ($335-$447 million).

Exporters gained after sharp losses the previous day, with Sony up 4 percent to 2,080 yen and Toyota Motor Corp (7203.T) gaining 1.9 percent to 2,930 yen.

(Reporting by Elaine Lies; Editing by Edwina Gibbs)