Bloomerg---Japanese stocks rose for the third day this week on speculation corporate earnings will increase and after the Federal Reserve maintained efforts to stimulate the U.S. economy, boosting confidence in a global recovery.
Mitsubishi Heavy Industries Ltd., Japan’s largest maker of heavy machinery, gained 2.8 percent after the Nikkei newspaper said operating profit may exceed the company’s forecast. Fanuc Corp., the country’s No. 1 maker of industrial robots, climbed 2.4 percent. Mitsui & Co., a trading company that counts commodities as its biggest source of profit, advanced 0.4 percent after oil and metal prices increased.
“There’s a rising sense of confidence about earnings,” said Masaru Hamasaki, who helps oversee about $17 billion in Tokyo as chief strategist at Toyota Asset Management Co. “More people see the future of the U.S. economy as bright.”
The Nikkei 225 Stock Average rose 0.3 percent to 10,429.42 at the midday trading break in Tokyo. The broader Topix index gained 0.2 percent to 924.09, with about four shares advancing for every three that fell.
The Topix increased 2.7 percent this year to yesterday and stocks in the gauge were valued at 15.9 times estimated earnings on average at the last close.
Mitsubishi Heavy climbed 2.8 percent to 333 yen and had the biggest gain in the Nikkei 225. Operating profit may total about 90 billion yen （$1.1 billion） this fiscal year, the Nikkei newspaper reported, 15 billion yen more than Mitsubishi Heavy’s forecast. The company is scheduled to announce results on Feb. 3.
Earnings Week
Next week is the peak for quarterly results in Japan, with more than a third of the Topix’s 1,662 companies scheduled to report. Of the 165 that have published net income for the last quarter, 18 have exceeded analysts’ estimates and 21 have missed them, according to data compiled by Bloomberg.
Fanuc, a maker of industrial robots that earns about 80 percent of revenue overseas, jumped 2.4 percent to 12,970 yen. The company is scheduled to report earnings today. Canon Inc., the world’s biggest camera maker, climbed 1.2 percent to 4,155 yen. Fanuc and Canon were the biggest boosts to both the Topix and the Nikkei 225.
Electronics makers contributed the most to the Topix’s gain among its 33 industry groups, followed by machinery makers and trading companies.
Commodity Prices Gain
Mitsui rose 0.4 percent to 1,391 yen and its rival Itochu Corp. advanced 0.8 percent to 907 yen. Inpex Corp., Japan’s biggest oil explorer, advanced 1 percent to 524,000 yen.
Crude oil for March delivery rose $1.14 to settle at $87.33 a barrel in New York yesterday, the biggest increase since Jan. 11. The London Metal Exchange Index of six metals including copper and aluminum advanced 1.2 percent yesterday, the most in two weeks.
“Surplus money is flowing not only into commodity, but also stock markets,” said Mitsushige Akino, who oversees about $450 million in assets in Tokyo at Ichiyoshi Investment Management Co. “The sense of recovery in the U.S. and China keeps on going.”
Japan’s export growth accelerated for a second month in December, signaling the nation’s recovery will gain traction as global demand picks up. Overseas shipments rose 13.0 percent in December from a year earlier, from November’s 9.1 percent gain, the Finance Ministry said today. The median estimate of 21 economists surveyed by Bloomberg News was for a 9.3 percent gain.
The Standard & Poor’s 500 Index gained 0.4 percent yesterday in New York, rising for a fourth straight day, after Federal Reserve policy makers maintained plans to buy $600 billion of Treasuries through June, indicating the accelerating recovery still needs stimulus to produce a bigger reduction in unemployment.
Resona Holdings Inc., Japan’s fourth-biggest bank, tumbled 5.2 percent to 424 yen, below the 440 yen price that the lender set this week for a new share offering. Resona had the largest drop in Nikkei 225 and was the most-actively traded stock by value in Japan.
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