Nikkei higher as weak yen aids exporters


Japan's industrial output fell in November, putting further pressure on the yen and helping exporters

TOKYO, Japan -- Tokyo stocks were up slightly by midday Thursday in thin trade, after a poor November industrial production figure in Japan weakened the yen further.

That weakness helped lift consumer electronics giant Sony Corp and some other big exporters such as Canon and Kyocera.

The benchmark Nikkei 225 average rose 0.31 percent or 31.84 points to 10,224.41, while the broader capital-weighted TOPIX index added 2.78 points or 0.28 percent to 996.79.

Most other regional markets, including Australia, Korea, Hong Kong, Taiwan and Singapore firmed in morning trade, with only New Zealand in the red.

Government figures showed Japan's industrial output fell 1.8 percent in November from a month earlier on a seasonally adjusted basis. That was worse than the expected 1.1 percent fall.

Sliding yen supports exporters


Sony shares rose Thursday morning, reflecting the boost a weaker yen gives Japanese exporters

"Granted, the output data was bad, but the yen's subsequent slide is supporting big-name high-tech shares and in turn the broader market," Kazunori Jinnai, general manager at Daiwa Securities SMBC, told Reuters news agency.

Sony rose 1.8 percent to 5700 yen after the dollar advanced to a fresh three-year high of 131.33 yen.

A weaker yen boosts the overseas earnings of Japanese firms, but could displease foreign investors by making yen-based assets less attractive.

U.S. stocks also helped buoy sentiment, rising on Wednesday after retailing giant Wal-Mart and Web group Yahoo! Inc rang up better-than-expected holiday sales.

That boosted Internet-related shares in Tokyo, with Yahoo Japan putting on 4.6 percent to 4.1 million yen and Internet investor Softbank Corp firming 2.46 percent to 2080 yen.

Big banks down again

In contrast, top banks fell on the bleak assessment of the domestic economy and dim prospects of a near-term solution to their bad loan woes.

Mizuho Holdings, the world's largest by assets, slipped 1.99 percent to 246,000 yen. Mitsubishi Tokyo Financial Group lost 2.6 percent to 829,000 yen.

Japan's largest trading house, Mitsui & Co rose 3.16 percent to 620 yen after it said on Thursday it would build the world's first plant to mass produce carbon nanotubes, a cutting-edge material with a broad range of potential industrial applications.

In Australia, the benchmark S&P/ASX200 added 19.5 points or 0.6 percent to 3409.6, led by market heavyweight News Corp, up 13 cents to A$15.57.

Most of the big banks were higher, with the exception of NAB. Resources stocks BHP Billiton, Rio Tinto and Woodside Petroleum also rose.

In Seoul, the Kospi was up 11.63 points or 1.8 percent to 665.50. Samsung Electronics, the market's biggest stock, led the way with a gain of 7000 won or 2.7 percent to 265,000 won.

Hynix Semiconductor, which rose the maximum 15 percent Wednesday, was slightly easier, down 10 won to 2310 won.

In Hong Kong, the Hang Seng index was about 20 points higher at 11,230 in late morning trade.

Singapore's Straits Times index added 13.4 points or 0.8 percent to 1600.63. Taiwan's Taiex added 31 points to 5423.