Japanese Stocks Rise; Honda, Sony, Tokyo Electron Lead Advance
By Michael Tsang
quote.bloomberg.com
Tokyo, May 1 (Bloomberg) -- Japanese stocks rose, led by Honda Motor Co. and other exporters, after a report showed U.S. consumers were more confident than expected, easing concern demand from their biggest market may be slowing.
Tokyo Electron Ltd. and other chip-related companies advanced after a domestic industry group said orders for chipmaking equipment rose in March for the first time in 15 months.
``The U.S. report is another piece of evidence that shows the economy is on the path to recovery,'' said Koichi Ogawa, chief fund manager at Daiwa SB Investments Ltd., which manages 1 trillion yen ($7.8 billion) in Japanese equities. Meanwhile, ``equipment orders will probably remain positive in this quarter as Asian chipmakers ramp up production.''
The Nikkei 225 stock average rose for the first day in five, adding 75.30, or 0.7 percent, to 11,567.84. The Topix index added 8.57, or 0.8 percent, to 1090.63, snapping a five-day, 2.2 percent decline. Computer-related stocks and automakers made up more than a fifth of the index's gain.
Ogawa said he plans to keep his stake in computer-related companies including Sony Corp. above the Topix's 17 percent weighting and expects the Nikkei to rise to 12,000 by the end of June.
Confident Consumers
Exporters advanced after the U.S. Conference Board's gauge of consumer sentiment dropped to 108.8 this month from 110.7 in March. Analysts surveyed by Bloomberg News had expected a decline to 107.5. That's a sign spending in the world's biggest economy isn't waning. Japan ships about a third of its exports to the U.S. |
