Nikkei up 1.6 pct, exporters lifted by weaker yen
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TOKYO, June 6 (Reuters) - Japan's Nikkei average rose 1.6 percent on Friday, with exporters such as Canon Inc (7751.T) buoyed by a weaker yen and optimism over the U.S. economy after surprisingly strong figures on jobs and retail sales.
A jump in oil prices boosted natural resource stocks such as oil and gas field developer Inpex Holdings Inc (1605.T) and trading house Mitsubishi Corp (8058.T).
"Since the begining of this month, top financial officials in the United States and Europe have made comments that have provided support to Japanese shares," said Masayoshi Okamoto, head of dealing at Jujiya Securities.
Remarks by Federal Reserve Chairman Ben Bernanke earlier this week helped lift the dollar against the yen, one of the biggest driving factors for export-oriented Japanese stocks.
Bernanke said rising long-term inflation expectations were a "significant concern" for policy-makers and made a rare warning about the inflationary threat from a weak U.S. currency.
The benchmark Nikkei .N225 ended the morning up 222.02 points at 14,563.14. The broader TOPIX index gained 1.1 percent to 1,440.26.
With worries about the credit crisis receding, the Nikkei has gained about 23 percent from this year's low touched on March 17.
"The market has been lifted simply by foreign investors buying back shares they had sold," said Masaru Hamasaki, a senior strategist at Toyota Asset Management.
Foreign investors bought a net 1.13 trillion yen ($10.67 billion) of Japanese stocks in May, their highest monthly buying since June 2007, Tokyo Stock Exchange data showed on Thursday.
"Whether the market goes up further depends on Japanese corporate earnings. Are companies really going to post a fall in earnings for this business year?" Hamasaki said.
Japanese companies forecast a 4.8 percent decline in recurring profit for the business year to next March 31, according to Shinko Research Institute, which tracks profit forecasts by almost all the firms listed on the Tokyo stock exchange's first section.
EXPORTERS UP
Digital camera maker Canon rose 2.3 percent to 5,770 yen, and Sony Corp (6758.T) gained 1.7 percent to 5,510 yen.
The dollar slipped from Thursday's high of 106.42 yen JPY= to 106.10 yen but remained near a three-month peak. Many exporters made earnings projections on the assumption that the dollar would average 100 yen in the business year to March 2009. Continued...
