17 October 2002, 10:51  Tokyo stocks higher, dollar stronger against yen

TOKYO (AP) -- Tokyo stocks rose Thursday morning on positive news, including better-than-expected third-quarter profits for IBM Corp. and a rise in Nasdaq futures in Asia. The dollar was up against the Japanese yen. The benchmark 225-issue Nikkei Stock Average rose 116.17 points, or 1.31 percent, to end the morning session at 9,001.04 Thursday. On Wednesday, the Nikkei climbed 48.14 points, or 0.54 percent, to close at 8,884.87 points.
The dollar was trading at 124.40 yen at 11 a.m. Thursday, up 0.02 yen from late Wednesday in Tokyo and but below its late New York level of 124.46 yen. Declines in U.S. shares overnight weighed on local stocks, but Tokyo investors were cheered by news IBM's third quarter profits exceeded Wall Street's expectations. Nasdaq futures rose 17.50 to 937.00 in Asian trade.
"Investors believe more U.S. companies may be releasing good earnings results so are covering their short positions now," said Tsuguya Onozuka, a trader at UFJ Tsubasa Securities. Copy machine maker Canon, Kirin Brewery, electronics giant NEC, and automaker Nissan were all higher Thursday morning. The Dow Jones industrial average closed down 219.65, or 2.7 percent, to 8,036.03 Wednesday, on discouraging earnings from Intel and profit-taking from a four-day rally that had boosted the benchmark nearly 1,000 points.
The Tokyo Stock Price Index of all issues on the first section inched 7.90 points, or 0.89 percent, higher to 889.35 midday Thursday. The TOPIX gained 4.88 points, or 0.56 percent, to 881.45 Wednesday.
The euro traded at 121.70 yen, down from 121.86 yen late Wednesday in Tokyo. Against the dollar, the euro was quoted at 97.91 cents, down from 98.05 cents.
The yield on the benchmark 10-year government bond rose to 1.0600 percent from 1.0500 late Wednesday. Its price rose 0.09 to 101.34. //www.nj.com

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