* Resource stocks rally on commodities advances
* Yaskawa Elec down 2.2 pct on output uncertainty
* Foreign buying helps sentiment-analyst
By Ayai Tomisawa and Antoni Slodkowski
TOKYO, April 21 (Reuters) - Tokyo stocks rose for a second
straight day on Thursday, helped by robust results from Apple
Inc and upbeat outlooks from other U.S. manufacturers,
but mixed signals on supply chain woes kept investors on
tenterhooks ahead of Japanese earnings.
The March 11 earthquake and tsunami that devastated Japan's
northeast have wreaked havoc with production at many
manufacturers which are grappling with parts and power
shortages.
On the downside, Yaskawa Electric , one of the first
big manufacturers to report, said it was unsure if it could
maintain full output in May and June amid parts shortages and
uncertain demand.[]
But Apple's Chief Operating Officer Tim Cook said he does
not see any unsolvable problems for Apple related to the
disaster. However, the company, known for its tight relationship
with Asian suppliers, stands at the head of the queue for
electronics components even if the supply crunch continues.
The benchmark Nikkei average rose 1.2 percent to
9,723.30, while the broader Topix gained 0.8 percent to
843.92.
Foreign investors bought a net 89.5 billion yen
($1.0 billion) of Japanese stocks last week, net buyers for a
third straight week although they trimmed their purchases.
"There are many investors who want to hold Japanese stocks
in the long-term. They still believe in recovering fundamentals
which were pushing up the market before the earthquake," said
Fujio Ando, senior managing director at Chibagin Asset
Management.
"But recent thin volume indicates their hesitance to take
large positions before earnings are released."
Yaskawa, the world's biggest maker of industrial
robots, dropped 2.2 percent to 864 yen.
"Yaskawa is based in Kyushu, so the market had expected it
to be harmed less than other manufacturers, but it actually
seems to be hit pretty badly -- that's a bad prognosis for firms
based closer to the quake-affected areas," said Masayoshi
Okamoto, head of dealing at Jujiya Securities.
Yaskawa did not give any earnings estimates for this
financial year. []
"That's why this earnings season it's not going to be only
about figures or specific sectors. We will have to take every
statement separately and examine it carefully for the current
output and predicted speed of recovery," said Okamoto.
But car parts maker Denso Corp rose 3.2 percent to
2,711 yen after JPMorgan raised its rating by two notches to
"overweight" from "underweight", saying the company's potential
to expand customers beyond Toyota Motor Corp was
intact.
Trading houses, miners and other commodity shares continued
to shine, with Japan's biggest gas and oil developer Inpex Corp
surging 4.5 percent to 628,000 yen after Brent oil
jumped 2 percent to near $124 a barrel on Wednesday.
Mitsubishi Corp , Japan's biggest commodities trader
advanced 1.3 percent to 2,208 yen after metals rose on Wednesday
and copper consolidated its previous day's 2.5 percent rally on
Thursday.
(Editing by Edwina Gibbs)
