Nikkei closes just short of 10,000


Japan's big banks, including UFJ, made good gains on the stock market Wednesday as the Nikkei neared 10,000

TOKYO, Japan -- Tokyo's key Nikkei index closed just short of 10,000 Wednesday, lifted by strong gains among its big banks, selected techs and automakers Nissan and Toyota.

Among other markets open in the region, Australia finished down slightly, while New Zealand and the Philippines closed higher.

In Japan, investors weighed a warning from ratings agency Moody's Investor Services of a credit review. Moody's identified deflation as the key challenge facing the Japanese government.

The Nikkei 225 average broke through 10,000 in early trade Wednesday for the first time since February 1, but was unable to hold above that figure.

It ended the day 90.36 points or 0.91 percent higher at 9968.35.

The broader, capital-weighted TOPIX index rose 9.08 points or 0.93 percent to 983.18.

Australia in the red

The Australian market opened strongly after a good profit result from leading bank Commonwealth Bank of Australia, but slipped into the red later to finish down 6.5 points or 0.2 percent at 3474.6.

Australian media heavyweight News Corp slumped 5.4 percent to A$12.77 after reporting a $606 million second-quarter loss, largely through writedowns.

New Zealand moved in and out of positive territory before closing at 2089.44, a gain of 4.03 points or just under 0.2 percent.

Most other markets in Asia are closed this week for the Lunar New Year holidays, as people celebrate the start of the Year of the Horse in the Chinese zodiac.

A weaker Wall Street, where both the Dow Jones industrial average and the Nasdaq composite fell on Tuesday, seemed to have little impact in Japanese trading in the morning session.

Banks make ground


Observers are looking for policy measures from the Koizumi government to tackle the threat of deflation

Bank shares gained ground on hopes for bolder policy measures from the Koizumi government to help resolve bad-loan problems, including an injection of public funds.

Mizuho Holdings, the world's biggest bank by assets, rose 3000 yen or 1.23 percent to 246,000 yen.

Rival UFJ Holdings rose 10,000 yen or 3.5 percent to 293,000 yen while Sumitomo Mitsui Banking Corp gained 10 yen or 2.13 percent to 480 yen.

Mitsubishi Tokyo Financial Group jumped 20,000 yen or about 2.5 percent to 841,000 yen during the day, before easing to close 3,000 yen or 0.37 percent higher at 824,000 yen.

Automaker Nissan jumped 4.11 percent to 785 yen after Renault reported its results were boosted by the Japanese unit's contribution. At one point the stock touched 810 yen.

Market leader Toyota put on 100 yen or 2.84 percent to 3620 yen, but Honda eased from early gains to finish in the red, down 0.57 percent to 5200 yen.

NEC on the slide

Mobile telephone giant NTT DoCoMo was up 30,000 yen or 2.13 percent to 1.44 million yen and parent NTT put on 4000 yen or 1.0 percent to 404,000.

Computer and chipmakers Fujitsu and Toshiba made gains of up to 0.7 percent, but NEC slumped sharply, falling 53 yen or 5.66 percent to 884 yen.

In Australia, the benchmark S&P/ASX200 touched 3492, above its June 2001 record closing high of 3490, before easing back to close at 3474.6.

Resources leader BHP Billiton was up 23 cents or just under 2 percent to A$12.15. It is expected to report a strong first-half profit on Thursday.

The other big resources stock, Rio Tinto, was up 33 cents or 0.8 percent to A$40.54

Commonwealth Bank of Australia added 70 cents or 2.18 percent to A$32.84 after it said first-half net profit rose 6 percent to a record A$1.2 billion ($611 million). Rival NAB was up 30 cents or 0.87 percent to A$34.70.

But News Corp fell 73 cents or more than 5.4 percent to A$12.77. The market heavyweight reported a December quarter loss of $606 million after writedowns of $809 million from its pending sale of Italian pay TV venture Stream and in the value of its broadcast sports contracts.

In Manila, the PSE Composite finished in the black, up 6.23 points or 0.45 percent to 1388.64.

Banks and property companies were mainly higher, but food and beverage giant San Miguel Corp eased 0.50 pesos or just over 1 percent to 48.50 pesos, just below its one-year high of 49 pesos.