* Resource shares up on higher commodities prices
* Gains capped ahead of U.S. jobs data
* Canon gains on revival of shelved factory plan
By Elaine Lies
TOKYO, June 5 (Reuters) - Japan's Nikkei stock average rose
0.6 percent on Friday, buoyed by resource and energy shares amid
high commodity prices as U.S. data fed hopes the economic slump
is waning, though nerves about looming non-farm payrolls data
capped gains.
Mizuho Financial Group <8411.T> and other banks gained after
their U.S. peers rose on a sector upgrade by RBC Capital Markets,
and Canon Inc <7751.T> climbed on news it was reviving shelved
plans to build a factory. []
But market analysts said gains were likely to be limited
ahead of U.S. jobs data due later in the day.
"If the numbers are better than expected investors will get
confirmation that the economy's really improving, but there's
worry about what will happen if the figures are worse than
consensus," said Yumi Nishimura, a deputy general manager of the
investment advisory section at Daiwa Securities SMBC.
"It does seem as if we're seeing signs that the falls in
world markets have stopped, but it's still a bit early to say
much more than that."
Wall Street rose on renewed hopes for economic recovery after
first-time U.S. jobless claims fell for a third straight week and
the number of people remaining on benefit rolls fell for the
first time since the start of the year.[]
But some analysts were sceptical, noting that the claims may
have fallen due to the long Memorial Day holiday and that most
retailers' May sales missed expectations. []
"Perhaps now that people have the time to really look at both
sets of data, pessimism about the sales data may be overpowering
the encouragement of jobless claims," said Hiroaki Osakabe, a
fund manager at Chibagin Asset Management.
The benchmark Nikkei <> gained 56.78 points to 9,725.74,
while the broader Topix <> rose 0.4 percent to 914.53.
OIL GAINS
Oil climbed to a seven-month high on Thursday and rose above
$69 a barrel on Friday, after the drop in jobless claims, which
boosted expectations of an economic recovery that could revive
ailing energy demand. []
Goldman Sachs said a potential economic rebound alongside
production cuts by the OPEC cartel could propel crude to $85 a
barrel by the end of the year and to $95 a barrel by the end of
2010.
Oil and gas field developer Inpex <1605.T> climbed 6.8
percent to 845,000 yen and Nippon Oil <5001.T> gained 3.3 percent
to 597 yen. Showa Shell Sekiyu <5002.T> rose 1.8 percent to 943
yen.
Strong metals prices, especially copper, helped buoy trading
houses, with Mitsubishi Corp <8058.T> up 2.4 percent at 1,910 yen
and Mitsui & Co <8031.T> rising 3.1 percent to 1,300 yen. Itochu
Corp <8001.T> rose 1.7 percent to 717 yen.
Banks gained too, with Sumitomo Mitsui Financial Group
<8316.T> up 2.9 percent to 3,850 yen and Mizuho Financial
<8411.T> climbing 1.3 percent to 241 yen.
"There's a sense that banks have been lagging a bit on the
recent rebound," Daiwa SMBC's Nishimura said.
Tokyo Electron <8035.T> jumped 4.7 percent to 4,880 yen,
Advantest Corp <6857.T> rose 3 percent to 1,875 yen, and Sony
Corp <6758.T> rose 1.9 percent to 2,690 yen.
Mazda Motor Corp <7261.T> surged 8.8 percent to 273 yen after
Nikko Citigroup raised its rating on the automaker to "buy/medium
risk" from "hold/medium risk" and lifted its target price to 350
yen from 270 yen.
In a note to clients Nikko Citigroup said it expects Mazda to
return to profitability in the fourth quarter and forecast an
operating loss of 40 billion yen for the year to March 2010,
against Mazda's forecast for a loss of 50 billion yen.
Trade was active, with 1.2 billion shares changing hands on
the Tokyo Exchange's first section compared with last week's
morning average of 1 billion.
Advancing shares outnumbered declining ones 827 to 698.
(Reporting by Elaine Lies; Editing by Joseph Radford)
