Japan Stocks Rise on U.S. Retail Sales, Capital Spending Report

By Pavel Alpeyev and Darren Boey


Nov. 26 (Bloomberg) -- Japanese exporter stocks gained after a U.S. report said retail sales increased the day after Thanksgiving as consumers proved willing to spend despite rising oil prices and other economic pressures.

Electronics makers such as Canon Inc. paced the advance as U.S. retailers offer discounts to lure back consumers amid worsening economic conditions. U.S. stocks rose on Nov. 23 with the Standard & Poor's 500 Index gaining 1.7 percent.

``The numbers are looking very good heading into the Christmas shopping season,'' said Norihiro Fujito, a senior strategist at Mitsubishi UFJ Securities Co. in Tokyo. ``Gains in the U.S. market may push the Nikkei benchmark to 15,000.''

Industrial machinery makers such as Mitsubishi Electric Corp. also advanced after the Nikkei newspaper forecast Japanese companies' capital spending will rise 11 percent in fiscal 2007, citing its own survey.

The Nikkei 225 Stock Average added 11.89, or 0.7 percent, to 14,999.66 at 9:16 a.m. in Tokyo. The broader Topix index gained 10.87, or 0.8 percent to 1,448.25. More than two stocks rose for every one that fell on the first section of the Tokyo Stock Exchange.

Canon, the world's largest maker of digital cameras, gained 80 yen, or 1.5 percent to 5,520. Sony Corp., the world's largest maker of video-game consoles, rose 120 yen, or 1.9 percent, to 5,380.

Mitsubishi Electric, a Tokyo-based maker of factory machinery, elevators and railway systems, added 10 yen, or 0.8 percent, to 1,205.

Nikkei futures expiring in December climbed 1.5 percent to 14,990 in Osaka and added 1.4 percent to 14,980 in Singapore.

In other Asian markets open for trading, South Korea's Kospi index jumped 1.7 percent and Australia's S&P/ASX 200 Index gained 1.7 percent.