Nikkei advances on banks, techs

McDonald's Japan made a healthy debut on the Jasdaq market Thursday

TOKYO, Japan -- Tokyo stocks edged higher by midday Thursday, with the Nikkei up 6.39 points to 11,898.00.

Banks and some tech stocks took their lead from a recovery in U.S. stocks, but a nosedive by Matsushita Communication Industrial Co Ltd kept sentiment cloudy.

The broader, capital-weighted TOPIX index was up 1.66 points or 0.14 percent at 1,190.77.

Elsewhere in the region, Australia's S&P/ASX200 was down 17.6 points at 3301.6, but in Seoul the Kospi was 3.53 points higher at 529.61.

New Zealand's market was also up. In Taiwan, the Taiex opened weaker, but by midday was up about 100 points to 4237.08.

Hong Kong's Hang Seng index was down 0.77 percent, losing 94.20 points to 12,119.90 shortly before midday.

Japan extends gains into third day

In Japan, the benchmark Nikkei 225 on Monday fell as low as 11,531.68, a four-month intraday low. Despite extending its gains Thursday into a third day, the Nikkei is still just four percent above a 16-year intraday low of 11,433.88 marked in March.

McDonald's Co Japan Ltd staged a strong debut on Jasdaq as investors showed healthy appetite for shares in the top restaurant chain operator known for its cut-rate burgers.

The Japanese unit of McDonald's Corp was first traded at 4,700 yen, up 9.3 percent from its initial public offering price of 4,300 yen, and the price put its market capitalization at 624.9 billion yen, the largest on Jasdaq, Japan's biggest market for start-ups.

On the main board, Matsushita Communication tumbled 7.48 percent to 4,080 yen after Japan's largest mobile handset maker late on Wednesday announced poor earnings results for the June quarter and issued a loss warning for the half year.

"It is just the beginning of the high-tech firms' earnings season. We're expecting the communications sector to provide the worst showing," said Tetsuya Ishijima, chief strategist at Okasan Securities.

NEC, Fujitsu to unveil earnings Friday

Since Japan's major electronics manufacturers such as Sony Corp, NEC Corp and Fujitsu Ltd all produce mobile phone handsets, their earnings announcements could provide negative surprises, he said.

Sony will release its June quarter earnings after the market closes Thursday. It slipped 1.12 percent to 7,040 by midday.

NEC fell 0.62 percent to 1,600 yen and Fujitsu lost 0.88 percent to 1,132. Both firms are to release earnings on Friday.

Furukawa Electric Co Ltd, Japan's biggest fibre-optic manufacturer climbed 3.83 percent to 1,030 yen, extending its steep gains into a third day.

The stock, the most actively traded by volume on the first section of the Tokyo Stock Exchange, has been bolstered about 30 percent by news on Tuesday it struck a deal to buy Lucent Technologies fiber-optic cable division.

Several banks were firmer, with industry leader Mizuho Holdings Inc, the world's biggest bank by assets, rising 5.9 percent to 485,000.

A rush to cover short positions had lifted the sector from all-time lows many major banks saw on Monday, but analysts said that fundamental concerns about the industry had not changed.

Reuters contributed to this report.