Nikkei rises on exporters, Nissin climbs

TOKYO, Nov 16 (Reuters) The Nikkei share average rose 0.5 percent on Thursday as some blue-chip exporters such as Canon Inc. advanced, while investors also bought back some recently battered firms such as Takeda Pharmaceutical Co. Ltd.

Shares of Nissin Food Products. Co. Ltd. shot up 6 percent after Merrill Lynch raised its rating on the instant noodle maker to ''buy'' from ''sell'', based on the company's 4 million bid for smaller rival Myojo Foods Co.

Concerns about slowing growth at home were pushing investors towards shares of exporters, said Kenichi Hirano, operating officer at Tachibana Securities.

''The main theme for the market right now is exporters,'' Hirano said.

''It seems unlikely that investors will be able to keep buying firms that rely on domestic demand.... The economy, including consumption, looks like it is slowing somewhat.'' The Nikkei was up 102.30 points at 16,345.77 as of 0013 GMT.

The broader TOPIX index was up 0.54 percent at 1,600.54.

Canon rose 1 percent to 6,300 yen.

Takeda, Japan's largest drug maker, advanced 1.5 percent to 7,480 yen. Its shares have fallen some 5 percent in the last month. No. 4 drug maker Eisai Co. Ltd. rose 1.3 percent to 6,030 yen. Its stock has fallen some 2 percent in the last month.

Shares of Sumitomo Trust&Banking Co. Ltd. rose 1.3 percent to 1,229 yen. The lender is likely to add between 2 and 4 yen to its full-year dividend, the Nihon Keizai newspaper reported on Thursday.

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