ASIA MARKETS: Japan Stocks Rise, As Rest Of Asia Lower

By Sarah Turner, MarketWatch

SYDNEY (MarketWatch) -- Japanese stocks gained ground Thursday to outperform a mildly weaker Asian region, with Tokyo investors welcoming signs that the government's anti-deflation stance is gaining traction with both rival politicians and companies.

Japan's Nikkei Stock Average rose 0.6% in early trading, after shedding 0.9% over the past two sessions.

Elsewhere in the region, Australia's S&P/ASX 200 index wobbled after the country's jobless rate came in lower than expected, briefly trading higher but then turning 0.2% down. South Korea's Kospi dipped 0.3%.

U.S. stocks ended with small gains on Wednesday, with the Dow Jones Industrial Average (DJI) sealing a nine-session streak of gains after stronger-than-expected retail sales data for February. Read: Stocks gain; Dow has longest win steak since 1996

The upbeat data helped the U.S. dollar move back above Yen96 overnight, though it slide during early Japanese trade. Major exporters moved off their opening highs as a result, though many remained solidly higher.

Nikon Corp. (NINOF) traded 3.8% higher, while Advantest Corp. (ATE) rose 1.9%, and Toshiba Corp. (TOSYY) added 0.9%.

Toyota Motor Corp. (TM), and rival Honda Motor Co. (HMC) each edged up 0.1%. Both are among auto companies which have agreed to award bonuses to their workers, as the government has urged such hikes in compensation to achieve its goal of 2% inflation.

By contrast, shares of Panasonic Corp. (PC) lost 1% after an anonymously sourced Nikkei news report said the firm plans to talk with labor unions about lowering wages by a few percent, as the electronics major looks set to post a loss for the year through March 31.

Meanwhile, hopes for fresh deflation-fighting measures from Tokyo got a boost, as a Wall Street Journal report said three opposition parties had agreed Wednesday to the Japanese government's choice for Bank of Japan governor, who is widely seen as dovish on monetary policy.

Real-estate -- one of the sectors expected to benefit from inflation -- saw gains in Tokyo on Thursday, with Mitsui Fudosan Co. (8801.TO) up 2.1% and Sumitomo Realty & Development Co. (8830.TO) adding 1.8%.

In the retail space, Nikkei Average heavyweight Fast Retailing Co. (FRCOY) rose 1.5% after selling down more than 2% the previous day.

Australian investors welcomed first-half results from department-store retailer Myer Holdings Ltd. , sending the firm's shares up 2.9%.

Sydney-listed miners fell, however, with Rio Tinto Ltd. (RIO) down 1.5% and BHP Billiton Ltd. (BHP) lower by 1.8%.

 
   Similarly, a 1.3% drop for steel maker Posco   worked to weigh on the South Korean market. 
 

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