well, we just took out Toyota as the third largest mkt cap in Japan...will we eventually take out NTT too?<gg>.
TOKYO, Feb 15 (Reuters) - Tokyo stocks opened firmer on Tuesday, helped by strong buying interest in large-cap high-tech issues after an overnight recovery on Wall Street, traders said.
The benchmark Nikkei average rose 105.27 points or 0.54 percent to 19,661.73 by 0005 GMT. The March futures contract was unchanged at 19,690.
Sony Corp , considered Japan's key high-tech issue, firmed 350 yen or 1.25 percent to 28,350.
Internet investor Softbank Corp shot up 25,000 yen or 14.79 percent to 194,000, a lifetime high after the business daily, Nihon Keizai Shimbun, said a Japanese consortium led by Softbank would take over the failed Nippon Credit Bank, now under state control.
Softbank is not included in the Nikkei 225 average, but became Japan's third largest issue in market capitalisation on Monday, surpassing Toyota Motor Corp's .
Traders said investors were being highly selective and avoiding cheaper stocks as well as banking shares amid growing caution over potential credit risks.
The Tokyo Stock Exchange said it had temporarily suspended trading in L Kakuei Corp , pending confirmation of media reports the company had decided to file for court protection from its creditors.
"The news about L Kakuei adds to fears about cheaper stocks with earnings problems," said Shinji Fujinaga, equities deputy general manager at Kankaku Securities.
The reports came after medium-sized supermarket Nagasakiya Co Ltd filed for court protection on Sunday, sparking a sell-off in shares of its creditor banks.
((Tokyo Equities Desk +81-3 3432 9404 |
