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LEAD: Tokyo stocks advance on U.S. bailout plan to resolve financial crisis+
[September 22, 2008]

LEAD: Tokyo stocks advance on U.S. bailout plan to resolve financial crisis+


(Japan Economic Newswire Via Acquire Media NewsEdge) TOKYO, Sept. 22_(Kyodo) _ (EDS: ADDING DETAILS, PRICES)

Tokyo stocks rose for the second trading day in a row Monday, with the key Nikkei index recovering the 12,000 mark, as investors delighted in the U.S. government's $700 billion bailout plan to clean up bad assets to resolve one of the worst financial crises in decades.



The 225-issue Nikkei Stock Average gained 169.73 points, or 1.42 percent, from Friday to 12,090.59. The Nikkei last closed above that level Sept. 12.

The broader Topix index of all First Section issues on the Tokyo Stock Exchange was up 19.57 points, or 1.70 percent, to 1,168.69.


Gains were led by mining, securities, and oil and coal product issues. Major decliners included pulp and paper, textile issues, and food.

The Tokyo market continued to extend its gains from Friday with investors reassured by the U.S. government's announcement Saturday that it will purchase bad mortgage-related assets over the next two years under the bailout plan, brokers said.

The plan was unveiled amid mounting fears of a financial meltdown after the failure of the nation's fourth-largest investment bank, Lehman Brothers Holdings Inc., last week, which sparked fears about the possibility of other financial institutions failing as well.

Hiroichi Nishi, equities chief at Nikko Cordial Securities Inc., said the bailout plan "dispelled market concerns about panic" in the global financial market after the shocking failure of Lehman Brothers.

Tokyo stocks were buoyed also by advances Monday in most of Asian shares.

But with some of the early gains trimmed through afternoon trading, brokers said investors remained anxious about the outlook for the U.S. financial sector, battered by woes stemming from the subprime mortgage crisis, and worried still about global economic slowdown.

"Investors are unsure as to whether or not the financial woes have hit bottom this time," Yumi Nishimura, deputy general manager of the global product planning department at Daiwa Securities SMBC Co. said, adding that the rise was capped by investors first wanting to see the details of the plan, which has yet to be approved by Congress.

Nishimura added that investors are also turning their attention to worries about the real U.S. economy, having in mind the outcome of macroeconomic readings such as housing data due out this week.

Ahead of a national holiday in Japan on Tuesday, there were some investors who sold shares for immediate profits, after Tokyo stocks rose sharply for two trading sessions, brokers said.

The market meanwhile paid little attention to domestic events such as Liberal Democratic Party's presidential election, the result of which was to be known later in the day after market hours, brokers said. Many investors had anticipated that former Foreign Minister Taro Aso would win the post.

On the First Section, advancing issues outnumbered declining ones 846 to 779, with 94 others remaining unchanged.

Financial issues performed well as they rode on the strength of the U.S. government action. Mitsubishi UFJ Financial Group, which was the day's leader both in value and volume terms, gained 36 yen, or over 4 percent, to 898 yen.

Nomura Holdings advanced 125 yen, or 9.58 percent, to 1,430 yen, on a Dow Jones news agency report Monday that the major Japanese brokerage group is likely to emerge as the winner of a bid for the Asian operations of failed Lehman Brothers.

Meanwhile, GS Yuasa was a notable decliner, falling by its daily limit of 100 yen, or nearly 19 percent, to 427 yen. The manufacturer of automobile lead-based storage batteries said Friday that its subsidiary was engaged in inappropriate transactions that would affect its consolidated business results.

Marudai Food lost 35 yen, or over 13 percent, to 230 yen, after saying Saturday it has begun recalling five of its products suspected of containing milk tainted with the toxin melamine that was imported from a major Chinese dairy firm and caused fatalities in China.

Trading volume on the main section came to 2,048.98 million shares, down from Friday's 2,633.44 million.

The TSE's Second Section index was up 20.40 points, or 0.83 percent, to 2,464.82 on a volume of 59.57 million shares. On the Osaka Securities Exchange, the near-term December Nikkei 225 index futures contract was up 170 points to 12,050.

Copyright ? 2008 Kyodo News International, Inc.

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