* Nikkei up 4 pct, after 26-year closing low on Tuesday
* Bank shares jump after Citi profit view boosts Wall St
* Toshiba surges after report of operating profit
* Battered blue-chip exporters gain on short covering
By Aiko Hayashi
TOKYO, March 11 (Reuters) - Japan's Nikkei average jumped 4
percent on Wednesday, bouncing back from a 26-year closing low as
financial shares climbed after Citigroup's <C.N> chief executive
said the U.S. bank was making profits.
Toshiba Corp <6502.T> shot up more than 8 percent after a
newspaper reported it may see an operating profit of about 100
billion yen ($1 billion) in the next business year, compared with
the consensus estimate for a 103 billion yen loss. []
"Investors have been overly risk-averse and tried to shrink
their positions both in Japan and the United States, but this
attitude may ease a bit after bank shares which have been weak
for so long pushed up Wall Street," said Mitsushige Akino, chief
fund manager at Ichiyoshi Investment Management.
U.S. stocks posted their best day in four months on Tuesday
after Citigroup Chief Executive Vikram Pandit said the company
was profitable in the first two months of 2009 and voiced
confidence about its capital strength, easing concerns about the
bank's survival prospects. []
"But the real economy hasn't improved and sentiment remains
the same. We'll just need to see if the rally will end today or
continue tomorrow and beyond," Akino said.
In moderate trade, the benchmark Nikkei <> gained 283.18
points to 7,338.16, after posting on Tuesday its lowest close
since October 1982.
The broader Topix <> climbed 3.1 percent to 725.58. It
hit a fresh 25-year closing low on Tuesday.
"We may be bracing for a rebound in the short-term as
downward revisions of earnings by companies also seem to have
calmed down recently," said Yukio Takahashi, a market analyst at
Shinko Securities.
"At least, fears about how far low the market could fall have
receded."
The market mostly shrugged off data showing Japan's core
private-sector machinery orders fell 3.2 percent in January from
the previous month, slightly better than a median market forecast
for a 4.5 percent fall. []
BANKS JUMP
Among banks, Mitsubishi UFJ Financial Group <8306.T>, Japan's
top lender, shot up 6.8 percent to 422 yen. Mizuho Financial
Group <8411.T> surged 7.8 percent to 180 yen and Sumitomo Mitsui
Financial Group <8316.T> gained 6.7 percent to 2,870 yen.
Toshiba jumped 8.1 percent to 239 yen. The Nikkei business
daily said the upbeat outlook is due to cost-cutting and growth
in its infrastructure business, but Toshiba spokesman Keisuke
Ohmori said nothing is decided for the next business year.
Other blue-chip exporters gained ground, with Canon Inc
<7751.T> advancing 7 percent to 2,285 yen and Honda Motor Co
<7267.T> climbing 4.3 percent to 2,170 yen.
Seiko Epson <6724.T> gained 8 percent to 1,088 yen after the
Nikkei business daily said the company planned to consolidate
three liquid crystal display plants into one by September and
stop production at a semiconductor factory as early as 2011.
Shares of Maruha Nichiro Holdings <1334.T>, a leading seafood
processor, soared 13.9 percent to 123 yen a day after the Nikkei
publisher said the stock was being added to the benchmark Nikkei
share average. []
Some 923 million shares changed on the Tokyo Stock Exchange's
first section, compared with last week's morning average of 946
million.
Advancing stocks outpaced declining ones by nearly 6 to 1.
(Reporting by Aiko Hayashi; Editing by Edwina Gibbs)
