By Sarah Turner, MarketWatch
SYDNEY (MarketWatch) -- Japanese stocks gained ground Thursday
to outperform a mildly weaker Asian region, with Tokyo investors
welcoming signs that the government's anti-deflation stance is
gaining traction with both rival politicians and companies.
Japan's Nikkei Stock Average rose 0.6% in early trading, after
shedding 0.9% over the past two sessions.
Elsewhere in the region, Australia's S&P/ASX 200 index
wobbled after the country's jobless rate came in lower than
expected, briefly trading higher but then turning 0.2% down. South
Korea's Kospi dipped 0.3%.
U.S. stocks ended with small gains on Wednesday, with the Dow
Jones Industrial Average (DJI) sealing a nine-session streak of
gains after stronger-than-expected retail sales data for February.
Read: Stocks gain; Dow has longest win steak since 1996
The upbeat data helped the U.S. dollar move back above Yen96
overnight, though it slide during early Japanese trade. Major
exporters moved off their opening highs as a result, though many
remained solidly higher.
Nikon Corp. (NINOF) traded 3.8% higher, while Advantest Corp.
(ATE) rose 1.9%, and Toshiba Corp. (TOSYY) added 0.9%.
Toyota Motor Corp. (TM), and rival Honda Motor Co. (HMC) each
edged up 0.1%. Both are among auto companies which have agreed to
award bonuses to their workers, as the government has urged such
hikes in compensation to achieve its goal of 2% inflation.
By contrast, shares of Panasonic Corp. (PC) lost 1% after an
anonymously sourced Nikkei news report said the firm plans to talk
with labor unions about lowering wages by a few percent, as the
electronics major looks set to post a loss for the year through
March 31.
Meanwhile, hopes for fresh deflation-fighting measures from
Tokyo got a boost, as a Wall Street Journal report said three
opposition parties had agreed Wednesday to the Japanese
government's choice for Bank of Japan governor, who is widely seen
as dovish on monetary policy.
Real-estate -- one of the sectors expected to benefit from
inflation -- saw gains in Tokyo on Thursday, with Mitsui Fudosan
Co. (8801.TO) up 2.1% and Sumitomo Realty & Development Co.
(8830.TO) adding 1.8%.
In the retail space, Nikkei Average heavyweight Fast Retailing
Co. (FRCOY) rose 1.5% after selling down more than 2% the previous
day.
Australian investors welcomed first-half results from
department-store retailer Myer Holdings Ltd. , sending the firm's
shares up 2.9%.
Sydney-listed miners fell, however, with Rio Tinto Ltd. (RIO)
down 1.5% and BHP Billiton Ltd. (BHP) lower by 1.8%.
Similarly, a 1.3% drop for steel maker Posco worked to weigh on the South Korean market.
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