Nikkei tops 16,000 as weaker yen boosts exporters

TOKYO, Aug 23 (Reuters) Tokyo stocks rose more than 2 percent on Thursday as Honda Motor Co Ltd, Canon Inc and other blue-chip exporters surged on the yen's fall to 115 yen, a level they had assumed in making earnings projections.

Bridgestone Corp added 3.7 percent to 2,400 yen as Japan's largest tyre maker said it would invest about 21.5 billion yen (8 million) to boost output at plants in India and Indonesia to meet growing demand.

''Investors think Japanese stocks have been oversold in the recent market turbulence and are ready to bounce back if there is any improvement in sentiment,'' said Yutaka Shiraki, a senior strategist at Mitsubishi UFJ Securities Co Ltd.

''But no one is confident enough to say U.S. stocks have stablised,'' he said.

The Nikkei rose 2.44 percent or 387.44 points to 16,288.08 as of 0051 GMT, while the broader TOPIX index rose 2.57 percent to 1,584.64.

The dollar rose to 115.81 yen up from around 115.30 yen in late U.S. trading on Wednesday. Many manufactures assumed an exchange rate of 115 yen in their earnings forecasts.

Canon, which generates three-quarters of its sales overseas, jumped 5.6 percent to 6,240 yen. Honda surged 4.7 percent to 3,800 yen.

Nonferrous stocks also climbed, as copper, lead and nickel futures rose in London on Wednesday.

Mitsubishi Materials Corp rose 5.4 percent to 630 yen and Sumitomo Metal Mining Co Ltd shot up 6 percent to 2,220 yen.

Trading firm Mitsubishi Corp rose 6.9 percent to 3,100 yen after it said on Wednesday it planned to buy back up to 150 billion yen worth or up to 3.06 percent of its outstanding stock on Thursday.

REUTERS CS BST0631