Chips keep Tokyo on a high

Tokyo stocks ended higher for a second straight day

TOKYO, Japan -- Tokyo stocks ended higher for a second straight day on Thursday, powered by Advantest Corp and other chip-related firms after a rally in their U.S. peers.

But profit-taking late in the day trimmed some gains in the technology sector, with investors becoming less and less confident of the potential for a continued rally.

The benchmark Nikkei average finished 1.35 percent, or 177.51 points, higher at 13,352.44, after jumping 2.11 percent earlier in the session. The capital-weighted TOPIX index gained a more modest 0.82 percent, or 10.60 points, to 1,301.33.

Elsewhere in the region, markets in Korea, Australia, Hong Kong and Taiwan all ended higher.

"I'm cautious about buying high-techs at levels higher than they are now because many of them will have to revise down their forecast (for the current year to March 2002) when they report results for 2000/01 in late April to May," said Toshihiro Koizumi, fund manager at Chuo Mitsui Asset Management.

Advantest, a maker of semiconductor testing devices, soared 7.24 percent to 13,620 yen.

Bank shares mostly firmer

Bank shares were mostly firmer, with industry leader Mizuho Holdings 2.43 percent higher at 674,000 yen, partly thanks to comments from former Prime Minister Ryutaro Hashimoto, a top contender for the post of premier.

Hashimoto, declaring his candidacy for LDP president, said that if chosen as leader he would set an annual target for financial institutions to dispose of bad loans and possibly make public money available for the task.

But some investors were cautious ahead of first-quarter earnings results by U.S. info-tech companies, putting a lid on gains in late afternoon.

Kyocera Corp, the world's largest maker of integrated circuit ceramic packages, advanced 7.55 percent to 11,830 yen, while Nikon Corp, Japan's biggest maker of steppers that etch circuits onto semiconductor chips, rose 6.85 percent to 1,481 yen.

Retailing giant Ito-Yokado Co Ltd suffered a 3.37 percent fall to 6,300 yen after reporting that its group operating profit for the latest business year fell seven percent, hit by chilly consumer sentiment.

In Hong Kong, the Hang Seng index ended 283.04 points higher at 12989.47, with modest gains across the board.

In Australia, the benchmark S&P/ASX200 was up about 0.5 percent, gaining 17.2 points to 3276.8. Bluechip BHP and retailers Coles and Woolworths made gains, while leading telco Telstra ended the day unchanged at A$6.80.

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