Nikkei rebounds after 5-day slide, softer yen helps

TOKYO, Mar 6 (Reuters) The Nikkei rebounded 0.97 percent on Tuesday after five days of heavy selling as investors returned to shares of Sony Corp. and other companies battered by the stock slide, and a softer yen helped exporters gain ground.

Shares of brokerage Nikko Cordial Corp. jumped nearly 14 percent as Citigroup, the U.S. bank, is set to launch a tender offer for the scandal-hit Japanese brokerage, a Nikko spokesman said.

''The market has gone through an extensive correction but for the market to return to where it was, we need to look at jobless data due on Friday'' and other numbers to see if the U.S. economy remains solid, said Tsuyoshi Nomaguchi, a strategist at the investment advisory department of Daiwa Securities Co. Ltd.

Ahead of Friday when Nikkei option and futures contracts are due to be settled, the Japanese stock market is likely to remain volatile, he said. ''Investors are still tiptoeing.'' The Nikkei rose 160.66 points to 16,802.91 as of 0411 GMT. The benchmark lost 8.6 percent in the previous five sessions. The broader TOPIX index gained 1.43 percent to 1,686.54.

The dollar rebounded from a three-month low against the yen, helping Toyota Motor Corp and other exporters. A cheap yen helps boost earnings outside Japan when they are brought home.

Toyota advanced 3.1 percent to 7,690 yen and Nissan Motor Co.

Ltd. rose 2 percent to 1,314 yen.

Investors also looked for bargains. Sony surged 4.6 percent to 5,920 yen, recouping some of its 13 percent loss in the last four sessions.

Actively traded issues included Nippon Steel Corp. which climbed 6 percent and Sumitomo Metal Industries Ltd. which rose 4.7 percent.

Kabu.com Securities Co. was bid up with buy orders at 222,000 yen, up 15.6 percent from Monday's close as Mitsubishi UFJ Financial Group (MUFG), Japan's biggest bank, said it would launch a tender offer for the online brokerage. MUFG offered 240,000 yen per kabu.com share.

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