Nikkei gains after machinery orders beat forecasts

By Staff
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TOKYO, Mar 9 (Reuters) The Nikkei share average rose 0.89 percent on Friday as machinery makers such as Fanuc Ltd. advanced after January machinery orders data came in well above forecasts, boosting confidence in the strength of Japan's economic recovery.

Shares of Canon Inc. jumped 2.3 percent to 6,300 yen. The office equipment maker said on Thursday it plans to buy back as much as 100 billion yen (0 million) worth of its own shares, a day after it said it had completed a separate buyback of a similar size.

Japan's machinery orders, a core gauge of capital spending, rose a bigger-than-expected 3.9 percent in January from the previous month, government data showed before the start of trade.

''Although machinery orders are rather volatile and thus are hard to interpret, this is something of a plus,'' said Yoku Ihara, manager at the investment information department at Retela Crea Securities.

''In terms of sentiment, it now feels as if we are over the worst.'' The Nikkei was up 152.38 points at 17,242.69 as of 0007 GMT. The broad TOPIX index was up 0.87 percent at 1,736.28.

Shares of Fanuc, a maker of industrial robots, rose 1.9 percent to 10,660 yen.

Machine tool giant Mori Seiki Co. Ltd. rose 2.2 percent to 2,760 yen, while industrial boiler maker Miura Co. gained 3 percent to 3,130 yen.

REUTERS DKS PM0657

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