Nikkei up 1.4 pct; Shin-Etsu Chem, chip makers gain
TOKYO, July 13 (Reuters) Japan's Nikkei average rose 1.40 percent on Friday, led by Shin-Etsu Chemical Co. Ltd. which jumped after a brokerage lifted its target price, while chip makers gained following an earnings announcement by Samsung Electronics Co. Ltd.
that indicated a brighter second half.
A surge on Wall Street also buoyed a wide range of blue-chip issues including Honda Motor Co. Ltd.
''It just boils down to a jump in U.S. stocks,'' said Yutaka Miura, deputy manager of the equity information department at Shinko Securities.
But he said the market is unlikely to keep advancing amid a lack of domestic factors for trade, and as the U.S. market rose largely on short-covering following solid earnings results, rather than after solving subprime mortgage problems.
''The Nikkei is likely to hover around the 18,200 level, and then is likely to move little because it's also the weekend,'' Miura said.
The benchmark Nikkei average finished the morning up 251.01 points at 18,235.15.
The broader TOPIX index climbed 1.17 percent to 1,783.68.
Trade volume jumped with 1.1 billion shares changing hands on the Tokyo exchange's first section, compared with last week's morning average of 835 million.
Advancing shares outnumbered decliners by a ratio of more than two to one.
SHIN-ETSU CHEMICAL, CHIP MAKERS GAIN Shares of Shin-Etsu Chemical climbed 3.7 percent to a record high of 9,480 yen after Credit Suisse raised its target price on the world's largest maker of silicon wafers to 10,700 yen from 9,400 yen while maintaining its ''outperform'' rating.
During afternoon trade on Thursday, Shin-Etsu posted first quarter net profit growth of 28 percent on brisk sales of wafers used to make microchips, and said it would review its full-year outlook when it announces its first half results.
Shares of chip stocks rose with Tokyo Electron up 3.2 percent at 9,090 yen, while Advantest Corp. added 1.5 percent to 5,380 yen.
Elsewhere, shares of Ibiden Co. Ltd. jumped 6.5 percent to 8,400 after Bloomberg News reported the company plans to raise production of diesel particulate filters for cars by as much as 70 percent by 2010 as tougher environmental rules fuel demand in the U.S. and Europe.
Among losers, shares of Fujitec Co. Ltd. and JFE Shoji Holdings Inc. dropped after the government said Fujitec used steel of substandard strength for itsng giant JFE Steel.
Fujitec tumbled 11.3 percent to 740 yen, and JFE Shoji lost 6.9 percent to 842 yen.
Shares of Fast Retailing Co. Ltd. declined 2.2 percent to 8,040 yen after the clothing retailer on Thursday cut its full-year forecast for a third time due to losses at subsidiaries and a recent slump in same-store sales. The company also posted a 3 percent decline in quarterly net profit.
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