Techs, banks take Japan higher


Japan is one of the few markets open Tuesday, as most of Asia celebrates the Lunar New Year holidays

TOKYO, Japan -- Strong gains by tech issues and banking stocks lifted Japan higher by midday Tuesday, with the benchmark Nikkei 225 average up 2.3 percent.

Elsewhere in the region, stock markets in Australia and New Zealand initially traded higher before easing slightly Tuesday afternoon, with New Zealand's Top 40 falling into the red.

A two-day rally in the U.S. helped lift Tokyo, which was one of a handful of Asian markets open this week. Markets in Hong Kong, Korea, Singapore, Malaysia, Indonesia, China and Taiwan are among those closed.

The Lunar New Year holidays are in full swing in most of Asia, as investors welcome the Year of the Horse under the Chinese zodiac.

In Tokyo, which was resuming trade after Monday's national holiday in Japan, the Nikkei jumped 225.76 points or 2.33 percent to 9911.82 by midday, while the broader TOPIX index rose 24.75 points or 2.61 percent to 974.72.

Australia near record

In Australia, the benchmark S&P/ASX200 was near record territory, up 2.3 points to 3478.8, after touching 3496 at one point in the morning.

Its record close is 3490.3, set in June last year.

A good profit result from leading brewer Foster's helped push the market up. Foster's was trading up 3.12 percent at A$4.96. But gold stocks Normandy Mining and Lihir eased.

Market heavyweight, media group News Corp, was 5 cents or 0.37 percent lower to A$13.50. It reports first-quarter earnings Wednesday.

New Zealand's NZSE Top 40 was down 2.9 points or 0.14 percent to 2085.41. Independent Newspapers eased after a week or more of strong gains.

In Japan, investors are hoping for guidance on the country's future economic policy ahead of U.S. President George W. Bush's visit to Japan later this month.

"Selling looks thin and investors continue to cover their short positions," Minoru Tada, a director at World Nichiei Securities, told Reuters news agency.

"Nothing new came out of the G7 meeting. But the government is now keeping a closer eye on the stock market and investors are taking notice," Tada said, referring to the Group of Seven meeting in Canada over the weekend.

Technology issues were strong across the board following a 3.6 percent jump in the tech-heavy Nasdaq index over the previous two sessions.

Tokyo Electron, Sony up

Chip equipment maker Tokyo Electron was up 3.86 percent at 7530 yen, while consumer electronics leader Sony added 160 yen or almost 3 percent to 5870 yen.

Banks, which have been the focus of investors' concerns because of their level of bad loans, were also firmer.

The world's biggest bank by assets, Mizuho Holdings, was up 3.75 percent at 249,000 yen and UFJ rose 4.48 percent to 289,000 yen.

Mitsubishi Tokyo Financial Group, the No. 3 lender, put on 19,000 yen or 2.4 percent to 816,000 yen.

Bush is due to arrive on February 17 and will meet Prime Minister Junichiro Koizumi the following day.

The fate of Japan's battered financial system, the yen-dollar exchange rate and the prospects for the Japanese economy are thought to be high on their agenda.

Mobile phone giant NTT DoCoMo rose 60,000 yen or 4.4 percent to 1.42 million yen, while parent NTT added 14,000 yen or 3.6 percent to 404,000 yen. Telco rivals KDDI and Japan Telecom were also stronger, up 5.4 percent and 3.9 percent respectively.