(Adds stocks, details)
By Aiko Hayashi
TOKYO, June 17 (Reuters) - Japan's Nikkei average edged up
0.1 percent on Tuesday, helped higher by bank shares after
earnings at Lehman Brothers Holdings <LEH.N> came in as expected.
The benchmark Nikkei swung in and out of negative territory
as investors took a breather from the previous day's rally, with
recent gainers such as Honda Motor Co <7267.T> under pressure.
"This is a reaction to yesterday's sharp rise," said Hiroaki
Kuramochi, general manager of the financial institutions service
department at Tokai Tokyo Securities.
"There's a feeling of relief in the market after Lehman's
earings and that prompted some buying, but it also gave an
opportunity for profit-taking," Kuramochi said.
The Nikkei <> ended morning trade up 18.51 points at
14,372.88. It rose 2.7 percent on Monday to book its highest
close in over a week.
The broader TOPIX <> climbed 0.5 percent to 1,408.23.
"The market will probably hover around this level today after
it rose sharply yesterday and there are no additional trading
factors to keep buying on," said Yoshinori Nagano, chief
strategist at Daiwa Asset Management.
U.S. stocks were mixed on Monday as tech shares rose for a
third day, fuelled by optimism about sales for Research in
Motion's <RIMM.O> BlackBerry and Apple's <AAPL.O> new iPhone, but
blue-chip stocks slipped on brokerage downgrades of telecom
stocks.
BANKS UP
Lehman CEO Dick Fuld said the company's franchise and capital
position are strong as it posted a $2.8 billion loss, in line
with its forecast last week. []
Japanese bank shares rose, with top lender Mitsubishi UFJ
Financial Group <8306.T> adding 1.8 percent to 1,101 yen.
No.2 Mizuho Financial Group <8411.T> added 1.1 percent to
571,000 yen and Sumitomo Mitsui Financial Group <8316.T>, the
third-biggest bank, climbed 2.1 percent to 934,000 yen.
"Worries about the financial system receded somewhat after
Lehman's results came in as expected," said Kuramochi at Tokai
Tokyo Securities.
Investors sold recent gainers. Honda shed 1 percent to 3,810
yen and Tokyo Electron Ltd <8035.T> shed 1.5 percent to 6,790
yen.
Asahi Glass Co <5201.T> slipped 1.6 percent to 1,358 yen
after the Nikkei business daily said the company has cut output
of automotive glass in the United States by about 10 percent in
response to sluggish car sales.
Trade was moderate on the Tokyo exchange's first section,
with 904 million shares changing hands compared with last week's
morning average of 1.2 billion.
Advancing stocks outpaced decliners by a ratio of 2 to 1.
(Editing by Michael Watson)
