The Nikkei average climbed nearly 2 percent on Thursday, moving away from a 2-1/2 year closing low hit the previous day as investors bought back shares after France and Germany said Greece's place remains in the eurozone. Tech shares rose and Elpida Memory soared after the memory chip maker said it may shift some production to Taiwan from Japan to cope with the yen's strength and survive in a dwindling market.
Although there are still widespread fears that Greece will ultimately default on its debt, sentiment for riskier assets got a lift after Europe's top bureaucrat said plans for a common eurozone bond, seen by many as a key tool to ease the region's debt crisis, would soon be presented. Immediate resistance for the Nikkei lies at 8,700 and then at 8,732, which was the settlement level for Nikkei futures and options expired in September, traders said.
But analysts said that despite Thursday's rise, Tokyo stocks will likely face downward pressure in the next few weeks amid ongoing concerns about Europe's debt problems. "The market is not moving in one direction. It's merely buybacks as volume remains low," Masatoshi Sato, senior strategist at Mizuho Investors Securities. "But due to Japanese stocks' attractive valuations, they may outperform their global peers."
The Nikkei finished up 1.8 percent at 8,668.86, regaining the ground it lost on Wednesday when it fell 1.1 percent to 8,518.57, its lowest finish since April 2009. The broader Topix index added 1.4 percent to 751.76. Volume was thin, with about 1.68 billion shares changing hands on the Tokyo stock exchange's main board, below last week's daily average of 1.82 billion shares.
Valuations for Tokyo shares remain attractive, with about two-thirds of shares traded on the Tokyo stock exchange's main board trading below their book value. However, this hasn't tempted foreign institutions into much fresh buying, market participants said. "Until foreigners are active buyers again, the Nikkei's upside is limited, and the 9,000 level will be difficult to attain," said Fujio Ando, senior managing director at Chibagin Asset Management.
Foreign investors sold a net 588.9 billion yen of Japanese stocks last week, their largest net selling since the first week of June 2010, data on Thursday showed. That was the seventh straight week of net selling, the longest such streak since the financial crisis from late 2008 to 2009.
Elpida jumped 5 percent to 564 yen. Among other semiconductor-related shares, chipmaking equipment manufacturer Tokyo Electron Ltd climbed 4.6 percent to 3,780 yen, and Advantest Corp added 2.7 percent to 885 yen. Sharp added 1.2 percent to 602 yen after J.P. Morgan raised its rating to "neutral" from "underweight", citing fast-growing demand for small and mid-size flat panels.
ANA fell 2.4 percent to 249 yen after Morgan Stanley Mitsubishi UFJ Securities cut its rating to "equal-weight" from "overweight", citing a slow recovery due to intensifying competition with such airlines as low-cost carriers. Steel shares rose after a bullish Credit Suisse report on the sector. Nippon Steel Corp added 3.6 percent to 231 yen and Sumitomo Metal Industries rose 3.8 percent to 166 yen after the brokerage raised its forecasts for the two companies, which plan to merge in October next year pending regulatory approval.