Nikkei opens higher on Wall St, Canon gains

Tokyo, Sept 14: The Nikkei average opened 0.52 percent higher on Thursday following gains on Wall Street while Canon Inc.

rose on a bullish newspaper report and a brokerage upgrade.

The Nikkei was 81.67 points higher at 15,831.72 as of 0001 GMT, extending the previous session's 0.2 percent gain. The broader TOPIX index was up 0.38 percent at 1,589.61.

Canon rose 2.4 percent to 5,980 yen after the Nihon Keizai Shimbun said its 2006 group net profit would rise 16 percent to 445 billion yen, beating its latest estimate by 5 billion yen, and Merrill Lynch upgraded its rating to ''buy'' from ''neutral''.

A Reuters survey showed on Thursday that business confidence among Japanese manufacturers worsened in September from three months before, as companies felt the pinch from rising raw material costs.

REUTERS