hiroshi osaka

Oct. 5 (Bloomberg) -- Japanese Topix index advanced, led by oil-related stocks and non-bank lenders, after the price of crude rose for the first time in five days and the Nikkei newspaper reported Promise Co.'s earnings may beat its own forecast.

Inpex Holdings Inc. Japan's biggest oil explorer, rose 2.5 percent. Promise, the nation's third-largest consumer lender, closed at the highest in almost four weeks.

``Commodity-related shares move in tandem with oil prices,'' said Yoshinori Nagano, who helps oversee about $70 billion at Daiwa Asset Management Co. in Tokyo. ``Even though $80 is a high level, I don't think oil prices will drop in the longer term because the economies of emerging markets are booming, so there's strong demand for oil.''

Limiting gains, Casio Computer Co. fell the most in 32 years after the maker of mobile phones and watches cut its profit forecast. Matsushita Electric Industrial Co. slid before a jobs report in the U.S. today.

Benchmarks swung between gains and losses. The Topix added 1.31, or 0.1 percent, to 1,656.91, posting the third straight week of gains. It fell as much as 0.2 percent earlier. Stocks that rose exceeded those that declined by 810 to 779. The Nikkei 225 Stock Average lost 27.45 points, or 0.2 percent, to 17,065.04, taking its weekly advance to 1.7 percent. It reversed an advance of as much as 0.3 percent.

The Nikkei, which rose 4.1 percent in the previous three weeks, had its longest winning stretch since the five weeks ended Dec. 29, while the Topix, which added 4.7 in the previous two weeks, hasn't gained for three straight weeks since the period ended Feb. 23.

Oil Price Rally

Inpex added 30,000 yen, or 2.5 percent, to 1.21 million. Its smaller rival AOC Holdings Inc. climbed 44 yen, or 2.6 percent, to 1,769. Mitsui & Co., Japan's second-biggest trading company, rose 20 yen, or 0.7 percent, to 2,800.

Crude for November delivery yesterday gained 1.9 percent to $81.44 a barrel on the New York Mercantile Exchange, halting a four-day, 3.5 percent retreat. Prices rose after an Energy Department report showed that fuel inventories unexpectedly dropped last week. The contract was recently at $81.23.

Promise, jumped 130 yen, or 4.6 percent, to 2,960, its highest close since Sept. 10. The Tokyo-based company may post net income of about 16 billion yen ($137 million) for the year ending March 31 2008, the Nikkei reported. That compares with the company's most recent forecast of 14 billion yen and a loss of 378.3 billion yen a year earlier.

Apt To Rebound

Aiful Corp., the nations' No. 1 consumer lender, surged 301 yen, or 17 percent, to 2,115 and Acom Co., the second-largest, gained 140 yen, or 5.2 percent, to 2,840. A measure including consumer lenders was the best performer among the 33 industry groups in the Topix today, advancing 2.9 percent.

``Consumer lenders have been the main target of selling after the subprime problems,'' said Mitsushige Akino, who oversees $468 million at Ichiyoshi Investment Management Co. in Tokyo. ``Now credit concerns have eased and when positive news like Promise's comes out, they are most likely to rebound.''

A gauge of consumer lenders fell 13 percent in August and 5.7 percent in September while the broader Topix index dropped 5.7 percent and rose 0.5 percent respectively.

Casio Computer, a maker of mobile-phones, cameras and digital watches, tumbled 300 yen, or by 19 percent, the exchange-imposed daily limit, to 1,272, the biggest drop in 32 years. First-half net income fell 58 percent to about 5 billion yen as sales of handsets slumped, the company said. It lowered its full-year profit forecast 39 percent to 17 billion yen. The rating on the stock was cut at Mitsubishi UFJ Securities Co. and Mizuho Securities Co.

U.S. Data

Matsushita, the world's No. 1 maker of consumer electronics, slid 70 yen, or 3.3 percent, to 2,080. Nissan Motor Co., Japan's second-biggest carmaker, lost 2 yen, or 0.2 percent, to 1,196. Nissan makes about 74 percent of its operating profit last business year ended March 31, 2006. Elpida Memory Inc., Japan's biggest memory chipmaker, fell 70 yen, or 1.7 percent, to 4,110.

Economists surveyed by Bloomberg News anticipate employers added 100,000 workers, compared with a drop in payrolls of 4,000 in August. Data released yesterday showed the number of workers seeking first-time jobless claims last week remained near the yearly average, while orders placed with U.S. factories fell in August by the most in seven months.

``Investors don't want to touch any risky stocks with risk,'' such as Nissan, which rely on the U.S. economy, before the jobs data, said Hiroshi Chano, who helps manage $7.3 billion at Yasuda Asset Management Co. in Tokyo. ``The data is critical because it will provide a clue for the direction of the U.S. economy; whether the August slump was just temporary or the economy will is really slowing down.''

Aeon Gains

Aeon Co., Japan's second-biggest retailer, gained 49 yen, or 3 percent, to 1,672 after the company said its first-half net income rose 2.8 percent to 23.8 billion yen. Aeon said it plans to pay a full-year dividend of 17 yen, 2 yen higher than a year earlier. It will also spend as much as 70 billion yen to buy back up to 4.37 percent of its outstanding stock.

Nikkei futures expiring in December closed unchanged at 17,130 in Osaka and added 0.2 percent to 17,110 in Singapore.

Japan's markets will be closed on Oct. 8 for a public holiday
Oct. 3 (Bloomberg) -- Japanese stocks rose, led by financial shares, after Citigroup Inc. said it plans to buy the 32 percent of Nikko Cordial Corp. it doesn't already own and on speculation that the worst of the U.S. credit-market crisis may be over.

Securities firms such as Nomura Holdings Inc. gained on the view more takeovers in the industry by foreign companies will follow. Nikko Cordial, Japan's third-biggest securities firm, jumped by the exchanged-imposed daily limit after Citigroup said it will buy the remaining shares at a 16 percent premium to its last traded price.

Measures tracking banks, consumer lenders and brokerages were among the Topix index's four worst performing industry groups last month as U.S. subprime mortgage losses led to a surge in borrowing costs worldwide.

``The Nikko Cordial case isn't something investors can ignore, it has changed the view that Japan is a tough place for M&As, to a more positive one,'' said Kiyoshi Ishigane, who helps oversee $61 billion in assets at Mitsubishi UFJ Asset Management Co. in Tokyo. ``Financial stocks had been oversold because of the concerns raised by the subprime problem.''

JFE Holdings Inc. led advances by steelmakers after its unit JFE Steel Corp. said it will raise the price of metal used for ships by 15 percent, suggesting that higher raw materials costs won't dent profitability.

The Nikkei 225 Stock Average rose 153.11, or 0.9 percent, to 17,199.89, the highest since July 31. The broader Topix added 24.22, or 1.5 percent, to 1,664.01. A measure including brokerages jumped 5.6 percent, the best performer among the Topix's 33 industry groups.

Brokerages Gain

Nomura Holdings, Japan's largest brokerage, added 80 yen, or 4 percent, to 2,090. Daiwa Securities Group Inc., the second ranked, jumped 65 yen, or 5.8 percent, to 1,178 yen.

Nikko Cordial surged 200 yen, or 14 percent, to 1,662, the biggest gain since Dec. 19, 2001. Citigroup Japan Holdings Ltd. will use stock to acquire the remaining 32 percent of Nikko Cordial for about 1,700 yen a share, Citigroup Japan's Chief Executive Officer Douglas Peterson said yesterday. The additional shares will cost the biggest U.S. bank 530 billion yen ($4.6 billion).

The purchase by Citigroup follows rule changes in May that allow Japanese subsidiaries of foreign companies to make takeovers using shares of their parent -- so-called triangular mergers.

`In the Past'

Brokerages as a group lost 5 percent last month, even as the Topix gained 0.5 percent. Financial shares rallied yesterday as Citigroup Inc.'s Chief Executive Charles Prince said the largest U.S. bank expects ``to return to a normal earnings environment in the fourth quarter'' and former Federal Reserve Chairman Alan Greenspan said the credit slump may be ending.

Saudi Prince Alwaleed bin Talal, a billionaire investor whose holding company owns 3.6 percent of Citigroup, said yesterday in an e-mailed statement that the third-quarter profit drop was a ``mere hiccup'' and he backs the bank's management.

``There's a view that the subprime problem is in the past, at least for the time being,'' said Hiroichi Nishi, an equities manager at Nikko Cordial Securities Inc. in Tokyo.

Mitsubishi UFJ Financial Group Inc., Japan's largest publicly traded bank, rose 44 yen, or 4 percent, to 1,158. Mizuho Financial Group Inc., the second biggest, jumped 30,000 yen, or 4.5 percent, to 691,000 yen.

JFE, IHI

JFE, Japan's second-biggest steelmaker, climbed 250 yen, or 3.1 percent, to 8,370 yen. Its unit, JFE Steel, will raise the price of steel plate used for ships and heavy equipment by 15 percent as raw materials costs increased.

JFE Steel will boost the price by about 10,000 yen a ton to about 80,000 yen during this fiscal year, company spokesman Nobuyuki Izawa said.

JFE will also team up with Toshiba Corp., a maker of heavy electrical machinery, to design and make small and mid-size steam turbines for power plants, Hiroshi Kurihara, a spokesman for Toshiba Plant Systems & Services Corp., said. Toshiba climbed 26 yen, or 2.4 percent, to 1,091.

IHI Corp., Japan's third-biggest maker of heavy machinery, jumped 28 yen, or 11 percent, to 292, rallying from a three-day, 29 percent slump. It was also the biggest one-day gain since Jan. 4, 2006. The recommendation on the stock was raised to ``buy/attractive'' from ``neutral/attractive'' by Kunio Sakaida, an analyst at Goldman, Sachs & Co.

Nintendo Co., maker of the best-selling Wii game console, added 1,700 yen, or 2.7 percent to 64,300 yen in Osaka. The shares rose 5.2 percent yesterday after Goldman rated the stock ``buy'' in new coverage.

Access, Kenedix

Matsushita Electric Industrial Co., the world's largest consumer electronics maker, fell 55 yen, or 2.5 percent, to 2,125, after dropping as much as 6 percent, on concern earnings will be hurt by a production halt at a battery factory operated by one of its units in Osaka after a fire on Sept. 30. It was the biggest one-day drop since Aug. 17. The company hasn't said when production will resume or how much capacity was affected.

Access Co., a Tokyo-based maker of mobile phone software, surged by the exchange-imposed daily limit of 50,000 yen, or 13 percent, to 445,000, after Israeli mobile phone maker Emblaze Ltd. said it will use the company's software for handsets supplied to Sharp Corp.

Kenedix Inc., a real estate investment company, climbed 26,000 yen, or 13 percent, to 233,000. The stock was rated ``buy'' in new coverage by Junya Ayada, an analyst at Daiwa Institute of Research.

Nikkei futures expiring in December gained 0.6 percent to 17,200 in Osaka and added 0.6 percent to 17,195 in Singapore.

Sept. 21 (Bloomberg) -- Pioneer Corp. shares rose to a one- month high after Sharp Corp., Japan's biggest producer of liquid- crystal display televisions, agreed to buy a 14 percent stake in the unprofitable car navigation system maker.

Pioneer's stock added 1.7 percent to 1,425 yen as of 9:14 a.m. on the Tokyo Stock Exchange, after gaining as much as 2.9 percent. Shares of Sharp fell 2.1 percent to 1,917 yen.

Pioneer, the nation's largest car navigation systems maker, will sell 30 million new shares, making Osaka-based Sharp its biggest shareholder, the companies said in a statement yesterday. Sharp will sell 10 million of its shares, or a 0.9 percent holding, to Tokyo-based Pioneer to cement the alliance.

Oct. 4 (Bloomberg) -- Kansai International Airport, Osaka's main airfield, temporarily closed one of its two runways after a Japan Airlines Corp. plane scraped the runway during landing.

The airport will retrieve a part that fell off when the Boeing Co. 737-800 plane's rear touched the runway, said the airport's spokesman Daisuke Komine.

No one was injured in the incident, according to Japan Air spokesman Atsushi Abe. Passengers will be transferred to a separate plane for a flight to Nagoya's Chubu airport from Kansai that the aircraft involved in the accident was due to fly, he said.

The accident happened at about 8 a.m., Kyodo news earlier reported.

To contact the reporters on this story: Hiroshi Matsui in Tokyo