The Japanese benchmark is up 1.1% in early moves, off just slightly from its opening high, with the gains a function of the overnight rally in the U.S. and the dollar’s modest recovery against the yen (currently at ¥102.07 vs. ¥101.93 about 24 hours earlier).
The advance comes despite an 8.8% plunge in February core machinery orders , though the data set is a volatile one.
And of course, the exporters are leading this morning’s gains: Sony is up 1.6%, Nikon is up 2.2%, Fujitsu is up 3.6%, Fanuc is up 3.2%, and Renesas is up 3.4%.
Olympus is 2.5% higher, unruffled even as Bloomberg News reports that six banks are suing the company over its 2011 accounting scandal, seeking about $274 million.
Likewise, Mitsubishi Motors is up 1.8%, Mazda is up 3.2%, and Nissan is up 1.5%. Toyota Motor, however, will have to sit this one out — its shares are 0.8% lower after announcing a massive 6.4-million-vehicle recall late in yesterday’s session.
The return to a weaker-yen trend is also helping trading houses (Itochu is up 2.5%, Sumitomo Corp. is up 2.2%), steel mills (JFE up 2.7%, Kobe Steel up 2.3%, Nippon Steel up 1.5%), and Japan Airlines (up 2.2%).
The advance comes despite an 8.8% plunge in February core machinery orders , though the data set is a volatile one.
And of course, the exporters are leading this morning’s gains: Sony is up 1.6%, Nikon is up 2.2%, Fujitsu is up 3.6%, Fanuc is up 3.2%, and Renesas is up 3.4%.
Olympus is 2.5% higher, unruffled even as Bloomberg News reports that six banks are suing the company over its 2011 accounting scandal, seeking about $274 million.
Likewise, Mitsubishi Motors is up 1.8%, Mazda is up 3.2%, and Nissan is up 1.5%. Toyota Motor, however, will have to sit this one out — its shares are 0.8% lower after announcing a massive 6.4-million-vehicle recall late in yesterday’s session.
The return to a weaker-yen trend is also helping trading houses (Itochu is up 2.5%, Sumitomo Corp. is up 2.2%), steel mills (JFE up 2.7%, Kobe Steel up 2.3%, Nippon Steel up 1.5%), and Japan Airlines (up 2.2%).