Japanese Stocks Rise on US Industrial Output, Earnings – Businessweek

Japanese shares gained, with the
Nikkei 225 (NKY) Stock Average rising to its highest in nearly two
weeks, after U.S. industrial production and corporate earnings
beat expectations.

Uniden Corp. (6815), an electronic-equipment maker that counts
North America as its biggest market, rose 1.8 percent. Canon
Inc. (7751), a camera manufacturer that gets almost a third of its
sales in Europe, climbed 1.7 percent after German officials
eased rhetoric over aid to nations in the monetary union. Misumi
Group Inc. (9962) jumped 2.8 percent after the distributor of precision
machine parts said it will acquire Dayton Progress Corp. of the
U.S. and the components division of Canada’s Anchor Danly Co.

The Nikkei 225 rose 1.3 percent to 8,816.88 at the 11:30
a.m. trading break in Tokyo, heading for its highest close since
Oct. 5. Volume was more than 10 percent above the 30-day
average. The broader Topix (TPX) Index climbed 1.1 percent to 740.78,
with more than four times as many shares rising as falling.

“The U.S. economy is improving at present,” said
Yoshihisa Okamoto, who helps oversee about $34 billion at Mizuho
Asset Management Co. “People in the markets are pleased and
have started pouring money into shares. Investors are gradually
moving into risk as they see more figures confirming that the
U.S. economy and corporate earnings aren’t as bad as thought.”

The Topix rose 1.9 percent through yesterday from Sept. 6,
when the European Central Bank initiated a global wave of
stimulus to boost growth, with the U.S. Federal Reserve and the
Bank of Japan following suit. Shares on the stock gauge traded
at 0.89 times book value, compared with 2.25 for the Standard &
Poor’s 500 Index and 1.53 for the Europe Stoxx 600 Index.

U.S. Data

Futures on the Standard & Poor’s 500 Index added 0.1
percent today. The gauge surged 1 percent yesterday after a
report showed industrial production rose 0.4 percent last month
after a 1.4 percent drop in August. Johnson & Johnson and Mattel
Inc. led stocks higher after reporting earnings that topped
estimates.

Uniden, which gets more than half of its sales from North
America, gained 1.8 percent to 173 yen. Hamamatsu Photonics
K.K., an electron tube maker that gets more than 25 percent of
its sales in the U.S., added 2.2 percent to 2,713 yen.

Japan stocks linked to Europe gained after two senior
German lawmakers said the nation is open to Spain seeking a
precautionary credit line from the monetary union’s rescue fund.
Chancellor Angela Merkel yesterday said Greece’s economic
overhaul is taking hold and Germans should restrain finger-
pointing at euro countries struggling with debt.

Canon climbed 1.7 percent to 2,563 yen. Ricoh Co., an
office-equipment that obtains more than a fifth of its revenue
in Europe, gained 2.1 percent to 728 yen.

Euro Climbs

The euro rose to as high as 103.52 yen today in Tokyo,
compared with 102.32 at the close of stock trading yesterday. A
weaker yen boosts the value of income at Japanese companies when
repatriated.

Misumi advanced 2.8 percent to 1,930 yen after saying it
will spend about $200 million to acquire Dayton Progress and the
components division of Anchor Danly from Connell Ltd.
Partnership of Boston.

— With assistance from Toshiro Hasegawa in Tokyo. Editors: Jim
Powell, Nick Gentle

To contact the reporter on this story:
Norie Kuboyama in Tokyo at
nkuboyama@bloomberg.net

To contact the editor responsible for this story:
Nick Gentle at
ngentle2@bloomberg.net