* Nikkei gets boost from upbeat China data
* Exporters gain on improving U.S. jobs trends, trade figures
By Elaine Lies
TOKYO, Dec 11 (Reuters) - Japan's Nikkei stock average rose
1.3 percent on Friday and appeared set to snap a three-day losing
streak, with data showing China's economy is on a brisk recovery
path boosting shares such as Hitachi Construction <6305.T>.
Exporters such as TDK Corp <6762.T> rose after improving
trends in the U.S. job market and a decline in the October trade
deficit lifted Wall Street.
China's industrial growth in November accelerated to 19.2
percent from a year earlier, its highest since 2007, while
investment expansion remained robust and imports surged 26.7
percent for their first rise in 13 months. []
"The Chinese data pushed Asian shares higher and Japanese
stocks have benefitted as well," said Fumiyuki Nakanishi, manager
at SMBC Friend Securities.
"That, and a slightly weaker yen, are helping the Nikkei
extend its morning gains today, along with continuing buying by
foreigners."
The benchmark Nikkei <> was up 124.49 points at 9,987.31
after earlier climbing as much as 1.6 percent, while the broader
Topix <> rose 0.7 percent to 879.72.
Nikkei futures and options contracts expiring in December
likely settled at 9,982.59, Tokyo market participants said on
Friday, citing estimates by local brokerages.
"Investors are now trying to decide which direction to take
next," said Masayoshi Okamoto, head of dealing at Jujiya
Securities.
The official settlement price will be announced by the Osaka
Securities Exchange after the market close. []
"We seem to have a tug-of-war between views of investors who
expect the U.S. market to gain further towards the year-end and
those who worry Japan won't be able to avoid the fallout, though
indirectly, from problems in Europe such as Greece and Spain,"
Okamoto said.
Fitch Ratings has downgraded Greece's debt rating, while
Moody's cut the ratings of six Dubai-linked issuers after
concluding that no "meaningful" government support would be
provided to top firms like DP World. []
[]
Ratings agency Standard & Poor's also on Wednesday warned
that Spain risks a debt downgrade in two years if the government
does not take tough action on its fiscal deficit. []
But news from the U.S. helped temper some of the worry.
The Labor Department said weekly jobless claims rose more
than expected last week, but investors took comfort in the
four-week average, a better view of underlying trends, which fell
to the lowest since September last year.
A separate report showed the trade deficit shrank 7.6 percent
as a weak dollar helped boost U.S. exports of goods and services
to their highest in nearly a year. []
Hitachi Construction rose 2.7 percent to 2,275 yen and
Komatsu <6301.T>, the world's second-largest maker of
earth-moving equipment, rose 1.9 percent to 1,839 yen.
The dollar <JPY=> rose 0.5 percent to 88.65 yen, helping
exporters gain. Investors fret about a stronger yen as it eats
into exporters' profits when they are repatriated.
Among exporters, TDK jumped 4.6 percent to 5,210 yen and
Kyocera Corp <6971.T> rose 2.8 percent to 7,690 yen. Honda Motor
<7267.T> gained 1.9 percent at 2,985 yen.
Sapporo Holdings <2501.T> rose 2.7 percent to 452 yen after
the brewer said it would enter the Vietnamese market by taking a
65 percent stake in a beer joint venture with Vietnam National
Tobacco Corp. []
(Additional reporting by Aiko Hayashi; Editing by Chris
Gallagher)
