* Nikkei up on techs before Intel earnings; China fears fade
* Mizuho climbs after report it is considering rights issue
By Aiko Hayashi
TOKYO, Jan 14 (Reuters) - Japan's Nikkei average rose 1.3
percent on Thursday, buoyed by tech firms such as Panasonic Corp
<6752.T> on hopes the upcoming U.S. earnings season will show a
rebound in a key market for Japanese manufacturers.
Mizuho Financial Group <8411.T> jumped 5.1 percent after
Bloomberg reported the bank is considering a rights offering to
boost capital, citing people familiar with the matter.
A rights offering would likely lead to less dilution of
shareholder value than a straight share offering, which the
market has been expecting, analysts said.
"Hopes for a recovery in the economy and earnings have
returned thanks to the stable state of the U.S. economy and
currency markets, though investors might be getting a little
ahead of themselves in terms of a speed of recovery in earnings,"
said Masaru Hamasaki, senior strategist at Toyota Asset
Management.
The benchmark Nikkei <> gained 141.30 points to
10,876.06.
The index, which is hovering around a 15-month high, dipped
on Wednesday on profit-taking after China surprised world markets
by raising banks reserve requirements, sparking worries of slower
demand from the world's third-largest economy. []
The broader Topix <> rose 1.3 percent to 955.93.
On Wednesday, U.S. tech shares led the Dow to a 15-month high
ahead of the widely anticipated earnings by bellwether Intel Corp
<INTC.O> later on Thursday. []
Investors were also keeping an eye on the outlook for Chinese
stocks, said Noritsugu Hirakawa, a strategist at Okasan
Securities.
The Shanghai Composite Index <> was up 0.4 percent,
after booking its biggest one-day fall in seven weeks on
Wednesday.
Volume on the Tokyo exchange's first section hit its highest
in seven months on Wednesday, boosted by active trade in Japan
Airlines <9205.T>, which crumbled on growing expectations the
airline is headed for bankruptcy and a delisting from the bourse.
[]
But analysts noted that volume has been picking up since the
start of 2010, attributing it to a combination of factors
including the introduction of a new trading system on the Tokyo
Stock Exchange as well as increased buying by foreign investors
seeking to rebalance their portfolios.
"Foreigners had really been underweight Japan over the last
few months, so there's a bit of portfolio rebalancing going on,"
said Takashi Ushio, head of the investment strategy division at
Marusan Securities.
TECHS GAIN, MIZUHO UP
High-tech stocks gained, with TDK Corp <6762.T> rising 2.1
percent to 5,820 yen. Kyocera Corp <6971.T> added 1.9 percent to
8,480 yen and Sony Corp <6758.T> gained 2.1 percent to 3,060 yen.
The United States is a key market for Japanese tech firms, so
investors regard an improvement in U.S. earnings as a positive
for Japanese exporters.
Shares of Mizuho advanced 185 yen, outperforming the banking
index <.IBNKS.T>, which rose 2.2 percent.
Goldman Sachs estimated last year that Mizuho, the
worst-capitalised of Japan's major banks, may need to raise up to
1.9 trillion yen ($21 billion) by issuing new shares.
However, a rights issue would allow the bank to limit the
dilution from its fundraising. The Tokyo Stock Exchange said
December it would relax rules on rights issues. []
[]
Japan Airlines was the most actively traded issue on the
Tokyo exchange's first section, up 14.3 percent at 8 yen. It was
followed by Mizuho.
Okuma Corp <6103.T>, Makino Milling Machine Co Ltd <6135.T>
and other makers of manufacturing tools rose after an industry
body said orders for Japanese machine tools posted a year-on-year
gain for the first time in 19 months in December as companies
worldwide have resumed investment in manufacturing capacity.
Okuma surged 11.5 percent to 572 yen and Makino put on 7.8
percent to 444 yen.
Shares of Mitsui O.S.K. Lines <9104.T> shot up 6.2 percent to
617 yen after the Nikkei business daily reported the shipping
firm likely generated a roughly 10 billion yen ($109.4 million)
pretax profit for the October-December quarter.
The figure would be up more than 500 percent from the
preceding three-month period, as robust resource demand in
emerging countries such as China and India helped boost business
for bulk carriers for transporting iron ore and coal, the Nikkei
said.
Fellow shipping firms also advanced, with Nippon Yusen KK
<9101.T> jumping 5.4 percent to 353 yen and Kawasaki Kisen Kaisha
<9107.T> climbing 7.1 percent to 348 yen.
(Additional reporting by Elaine Lies; Editing by David Dolan)
