Japan Stocks Extend Gains!

Japanese stocks made tepid gains in early Tuesday trade, with the Nikkei Stock Average JP:NIK +0.51% edging 0.2% higher to extend a 2.3% rally in the previous session, while the Topix rose 0.3%. 

A modest advance for U.S. stocks overnight appeared to help sentiment, as did a further softening of the yen, with the dollar USDJPY +0.14%  rising to ¥102.25 from ¥102.08 around the time of the previous session's close. Steel shares were outperformers, with JFE Holdings Inc. JP:5411 +2.12% JFEEF -8.24%  up 2.1%, Nippon Steel & Sumitomo Metal Corp. JP:5401 +1.89%  NSSMY +1.85% up 1.5%, and Kobe Steel Ltd. JP:5406 +1.85%  ahead by 1.9%.

Among other notable advances for the blue chips were Mitsui O.S.K. Lines Ltd. JP:9104 +1.43%  MSLOF 0.00%  (up 1.7%), TDK Corp. JP:6762 +1.31%  TTDKF -11.23%  (up 1.7%), and Fuji Electric Co. JP:6504 +1.60%  FELTF +38.57%  (up 1.6%). Shares of Mitsubishi UFJ Financial Group Inc. JP:8306 +1.58%  MTU +0.53%  rose 1.2% after the bank's chief executive told the Nikkei of ambitious targets to grow clients' risk assets over the next three years. On the downside, Fujitsu Ltd. JP:6702 -1.03%  FJTSY +2.35%  lost 1.3%, KDDI Corp. JP:9433 -1.10%  KDDIF +2.19% fell 1.2%, and Nintendo Co. JP:7974 -0.09%  NTDOF -0.32%  lost 0.6%.

Source: marketwatch.com