(Adds stocks, details)
By Elaine Lies
TOKYO, Feb 12 (Reuters) - Japan's benchmark Nikkei edged up in
seesaw trade on Tuesday, as gains in TDK Corp <6762.T> and other
technology shares outweighed downward pressure from financial
shares sold on U.S. credit fears.
Yahoo Japan rose 1.1 percent after Yahoo Inc <YHOO.O>
rejected Microsoft Corp's <MSFT.O> takeover bid as too low,
raising the possibility of a higher offer [].
But the market was unable to completely ignore the downward
pressure of financial shares as investors worried about a
possible downgrade of U.S. bond insurers such as MBIA Inc
<MBI.N>.
"There's been talk for a long time that a ratings cut
decision on the monoline firms was due in mid-February, and we're
almost there now," said Nagayuki Yamagishi, a strategist at
Mitsubishi UFJ Securities.
"Even though people know this is likely to happen, and when,
the fact is that there is still quite a lot of worry out there
about the issue."
More downward impetus came from American International Group
Inc <AIG.N>, which disclosed potential losses in its derivatives
portfolio, raising fears it would become the latest casualty of
the credit crisis. []
The combination hit insurers hard, with Millea Holdings Inc
<8766.T>, Japan's largest non-life insurer, tumbling 4.5 percent
and other insurers skidding even further.
But high-tech shares fought back, bolstered by gains in their
peers on Wall Street.
"Following sharp losses throughout January, it seems that a
lot of the U.S. high-tech companies may have already touched
bottom, such as Google," said Yumi Nishimura, manager at the
investment advisory section of Daiwa Securities SMBC.
The benchmark Nikkei <> was up 15.01 points or 0.1
percent at 13,032.25 by midsession, after moving in a tight band
of just over 100 points. The broader TOPIX <> was down 0.2
percent at 1,284.54, a loss of 2.6 points.
FINANCIAL FEARS, HEARTY HIGH-TECH
AIG shares plummeted to their worst loss since the 1987 stock
market crash, renewing fears that the impact of the U.S. credit
crisis may be far from over.
Insurers suffered widely. Mitsui Sumitomo Insurance Co Ltd
<8752.T> tumbled 5 percent to 1,046 yen, while Sompo Japan
Insurance Inc <8755.T> lost 4.1 percent to 881 yen.
No. 2 bank Mizuho Financial Group <8411.T> slid 1.6 percent
to 429,000 yen. But other banks fared slightly better, with the
country's top bank Mitsubishi UFJ Financial Group <8306.T> down
0.3 percent at 933 yen.
TDK Corp surged 5.3 percent to 7,210 yen, becoming the
greatest booster of the Nikkei by volume weight. Another strong
performer was Tokyo Electron <8035.T>, which climbed 3.3 percent
Steel firms were solid after a report by the Nikkei business
daily that Nippon Steel Corp <5401.T> plans to raise prices for
sheet metal and steel plate by 10 to 20 percent to pass on the
high costs of raw materials. []
Nippon Steel rose 3 percent to 558 yen and JFE Holdings
<5411.T> gained 1.2 percent to 4,180 yen, while Kobe Steel
<5406.T> surged 5.6 percent to 339 yen.
Oil-field developer Inpex Holdings Inc <1605.T> jumped 6.7
percent to 1.05 million yen after oil prices jumped nearly 2
percent to their highest levels in a month during U.S. trade,
Trade was moderate, with 1 billion shares changing hands,
compared with last week's morning average of 1.05 billion.
Declining shares beat advancing ones by more than two to
one.
(Reporting by Elaine Lies; Editing by Chris Gallagher)
