* Nikkei retreats from 8-wk closing low hit on Monday
* Exporters benefit from Wall St rally, yen
* Nissan, carmakers up after China business expansion report
* U.S. financials' earnings due this week in focus
By Aiko Hayashi
TOKYO, July 14 (Reuters) - Japan's Nikkei average gained 2.2
percent on Tuesday, buoyed by exporters such as Sony Corp
<6758.T> after bullish analyst comments boosted confidence about
the U.S. financial sector.
Komatsu Ltd <6301.T> jumped more than 6 percent after the
Nikkei business daily said the company returned to profitability
in the April-June quarter, helped by cost cuts and recovering
demand in China and other emerging economies.
A halt in the yen's sharp appreciation against the dollar
also helped the Nikkei rise from an eight-week closing low booked
on Monday.
In comments to CNBC television, well-known analyst Meredith
Whitney said U.S. bank shares were in for at least a short-term
gain of 15 percent.
"After a recent bearish run, the market has been looking an
opportunity to rebound, and the analyst comments on the financial
sector fit the bill," said Yutaka Miura, senior technical analyst
at Mizuho Securities.
Whitney said major financials, including Bank of America Corp
<BAC.N> and JPMorgan Chase & Co <JPM.N>, which along with Goldman
Sachs <GS.N> are scheduled to report results this week, could do
well in the second quarter. []
Whitney, who has in the past been bearish, also upgraded
Goldman to "buy", driving its stock higher.
"But we won't know anything for sure until we see their
actual numbers. I expect today's gains to be somewhat limited,"
said Miura.
In moderate trade, the benchmark Nikkei <> advanced
201.05 points to 9,251.38. It slid 2.6 percent the previous day
to hit its lowest finish since May 18 and for its ninth day of
falls. It lost 9.1 percent over that nine-day period.
The broader Topix <> rose 1.9 percent to 868.54.
In early Asia trade, the dollar was trading around 93 yen
<JPY=> after hitting a five-month trough of 91.73 yen. Investors
welcome a weaker yen as it boosts exporters' profits when they
are repatriated.
On Monday, the Standard & Poor's 500 Index <.SPX> gained 2.5
percent.
NISSAN, AUTOMAKERS STRONG
Automakers rose after the Nikkei business daily said major
Japanese carmakers such as Nissan Motor Co <7201.T> and Honda
Motor <7267.T> are raising production capacity in China as brisk
local demand helps prop up their earnings at a time when sales
virtually everywhere else are in a steep slump.
Nissan surged 7.7 percent to 547 yen after the Nikkei
reported that the automaker will boost production capacity in
China by 20 percent. Honda rose 1.5 percent to 2,405 yen and
Toyota Motor Corp <7203.T> added 3 percent to 3,480 yen.
Other exporters gained. Sony jumped 5.8 percent to 2,290 yen
and Canon Inc <7751.T> climbed 3.4 percent to 3,020 yen.
Shares of Komatsu shot up 6.3 percent to 1,377 yen. It will
likely report an operating profit to 5 billion yen ($54 million)
for the April-June quarter, compared to a 48.2 billion yen
operating loss in the January-March quarter although that is
still a 94 percent fall from a year earlier, the Nikkei said.
Banks such as Sumitomo Mitsui Financial Group <8316.T> and
Mizuho Financial Group <8411.T> gained after Whitney's comments
boosted their U.S. peers.
SMFG powered 6 percent higher to 3,720 yen and Mizuho rose
4.7 percent to 202 yen. Mitsubishi UFJ Financial Group <8306.T>,
Japan's largest bank, advanced 3.4 percent to 551 yen.
Shares of Kirin Holdings <2503.T> added 1.9 percent to 1,419
yen after soaring 8 percent to a nine-month high on Monday on
hopes for a merger with Suntory, which would create one of the
world's largest beverage and food companies. []
Some 1.1 billion shares changed hands on the Tokyo exchange's
first section, in line with last week's morning average.
Advancing stocks outnumbered declining ones by more than 2 to
1.
(Editing by Edwina Gibbs)
