Nikkei higher as carmakers rebound


Carmaker Honda and rival Nissan are up strongly in early Tokyo trade Monday

Staff and wires

TOKYO, Japan -- Tokyo shares were higher in early trade Monday as investors snapped up tech issues and carmakers such as Nissan Motor.

Markets in Australia and Singapore were also higher, but in South Korea the Kospi index was almost 1 percent lower at 788.78.

Taiwan's Taiex also dropped sharply, down 1.9 percent to 5567.95.

In Tokyo, the Nikkei 225 average put on 0.94 percent or 110.77 points to 11,871.87, while the broader Topix index was up 0.9 percent or 10.09 points at 1130.17.

"Tech issues and autos may be due for a rebound after having fallen recently because of the stronger yen," Kazunori Jinnai, general manager at the equity department of Daiwa Securities SMBC, told Reuters news agency.

Nissan, Honda up

Nissan, Japan's third-largest automaker, was up 4.3 percent at 919 yen, after closing Friday at 881 yen. Its bigger rival Honda Motor was 2.08 percent higher at 5410 yen. But Toyota, the No. 1 carmaker, eased slightly, off 0.3 percent to 3380 yen.

Last week, shares in Nissan fell 7.5 percent on fears that a stronger yen would eat into its overseas profits when repatriated into yen.

Most of Japan's major automakers are looking at a dollar rate of 125 yen in the year to March 2003.

The dollar was at 124.27 yen in early Tokyo trade on Monday after the Bank of Japan, on behalf of the Ministry of Finance, intervened repeatedly on Friday to halt the yen's rise.

Tech shares also rebounded as optimism increased about recovering end-user demand, analysts said.

Tokyo Electron, Japan's biggest manufacturer of chip equipment, was up 2.15 percent at 8560 yen, while Advantest Corp, Japan's top maker of chip-testing devices, was up 1.18 percent at 8600 yen.

Banks were also higher, with Mizuho Holdings up 3.6 percent to 316,000 yen.