Nikkei up 1 pct as Kyocera, exporters gain on yen

TOKYO, Mar 20 (Reuters) The Nikkei average jumped 1.24 percent on Tuesday as exporters such as Kyocera Corp. climbed on a softer yen.

Investors also picked up a wide range of blue-chip shares including real estate, steel and shipbuilders, but gains may be limited, said Kenichi Hirano, operating officer at Tachibana Securities.

''The Nikkei will encounter resistance after it hits the 17,300 level,'' he said.

''There is this sentiment in the market to buy strong players such as technology and real estate companies, and whether a market rise will continue depends on their performance.'' The market is also closely watching central bank meetings in the United States and Japan for clues to the direction of those countries' economies, Hirano said.

The Bank of Japan will announce its policy decision on Tuesday, after which Governor Toshihiko Fukui will hold a news conference.

The Federal Reserve, which meets for two days, will announce its decision on Wednesday.

The dollar stood at 117.80 yen as of 0057 GMT, up from around 117.40 yen in late U.S. trading.

The Nikkei was up 211.34 points at 17,220.89 as of 0059 GMT. The broad TOPIX index rose 1.40 percent to 1,717.79.

Kyocera added 1.5 percent to 10,980 yen, while Mitsui Fudosan Co.

Ltd., Japan's largest property firm, climbed 4.6 percent to 3,380 yen.

Shares of struggling electronics maker Sanyo Electric Co. Ltd.

rose 0.5 percent to 185 yen.

The company said its chairwoman, Tomoyo Nonaka, resigned on Monday for personal reasons.

REUTERS SBA PM0638