Nikkei up 0.7 pc as real estate, bank stocks gain

Tokyo, Feb 13: The Nikkei share average rose 0.71 percent after opening lower on Tuesday with real estate shares such as Mitsui Fudosan Co. Ltd. rising after they reported strong earnings results last week, while investors locked in profits on exporters.

Investors also picked up bank shares such as Mitsubishi UFJ Financial Group Inc. and others dependent on domestic demand as the market expects a solid reading for GDP data on Thursday, said Zenshiro Mizuno, senior managing director at Marusan Securities.

''Bank shares have been adjusting positions and are now gaining strength. The overall market will likely continue to be bullish,'' he said, The Nikkei was up 123.70 points at 17,628.03 as of 0111 GMT.

The broader TOPIX index rose 0.63 percent at 1,756.04.

Shares of Mitsui Fudosan Co., Japan's top property firm, gained 4.7 percent to 3,370 yen after it posted a 14 percent gain in net profit for the first nine months of the business year on Friday, helped by brisk demand for office space, and lifted its full-year profit estimate by 11 percent.

The stock is nearing a lifetime high of 3,390 yen hit in December 1989 at the peak of Japan's asset-inflated bubble economy.

Mitsubishi UFJ Financial Group added 2.1 percent to 1.47 million yen, while Sumitomo Mitsui Financial Group Inc. was up 1.7 percent to 1.17 million yen.

Among stocks that were sold, chip-equipment firm Advantest Corp. fell 1.3 percent to 5,510 yen, and Tokyo Electron Ltd.

dropped 1.4 percent to 8,520 yen.

Reuters