Tokyo markets gain on steel, electronics

The Tokyo equities markets were higher on Tuesday, with the Nikkei 225 adding 0.9 percent to 17,237.77 and the Topix index gaining 1 percent to 1,692.12. On the other hand, the Mothers market of small and mid-caps saw a loss, dropping 1.3 percent to 1,073.36.

The steel sector added 3 percent as a whole on bids speculation. Nippon Steel added 3.3 percent to ¥649, while JFE Holdings was 4.9 percent higher to ¥5,980.

The electronics sector was up on positive broker comment. Pioneer was up 4 percent to ¥1,716 after Goldman Sachs issued an upgrade from “sell” to “neutral” for the audio equipment manufacturer. Goldman Sachs also upgraded Sony, from “neutral” to “buy”, based on strong Christmas sales for the consumer electronics firm. Sony added 6.5 percent to ¥5,550.

Banks saw gains on the possibility that the Bank of Japan will raise interest rates when it meets next week, on the theory that lending margins might improve if rates go up. Mitsubishi UFJ gained 1.3 percent to ¥1,510,000, while Mizuho Financial added 2.3 percent to ¥880,000.

The consumer finance sector was up on the session. Aiful was up 2.7 percent to ¥3,820, while Takefuji gained 3.5 percent to ¥5,270 and Credit Saison was 5.1 percent higher to ¥4,510.

Securities house Nikko Cordial was still seeing fallout from its recent accounting troubles, dropping 2 percent to ¥1,275.

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