/www.fxserver.com/ TOKYO (AP) -- Japanese stocks rose Tuesday morning as investors looked for bargains in a market hovering near 20-year lows. The dollar fell against the Japanese yen.
The Nikkei Stock Average of 225 issues rose 72.63 points, or 0.94 percent, to 7,824.73 at the end of morning trading. On Monday the blue chip index fell 64.39 points, or 0.82 percent, to a 20-year low of 7,752.10.
The dollar was trading at 120.05 yen at 11 a.m., down 0.59 yen from 120.64 late Monday in Tokyo and below the 120.31 yen it bought in New York trading later in the day.
On the stock market, the Nikkei got a boost from investors looking to pick up shares on the cheap after the index ended at 20-year lows for two consecutive sessions, traders said. Its close Monday at 7,752.10 was its lowest since Nov. 17, 1982, when trading ended at 7,740.10.
Buyers were encouraged by Wall Street, where the Dow Jones industrials rose 1.8 percent and the technology-heavy Nasdaq composite index gained 1.9 percent in trading Monday.
The Tokyo market has been weighed down in recent sessions by concerns that Japanese companies may dump issues from their pension fund portfolios.
Corporate fund managers are under pressure to sell shares to raise money to return a portion of public pension funds that they've been investing in stocks on the government's behalf.
In other trading Tuesday, the broader Tokyo Stock Price Index gained 8.87 points, or 1.14 percent, to 784.48 at the end of morning trading. The TOPIX fell 6.64 points, or 0.84 percent, on Monday.
On the currency market, the dollar slipped against the yen as Japanese exporters converted overseas earnings, traders said.
In other currency trading, the euro bought $1.0783, up from $1.0744 late Monday. Against the yen, the euro traded at 129.48, down from 129.61 yen.
The yield on Japan's benchmark 10-year government bond rose to 0.6600 percent, up from Monday's close at 0.6550 percent. Its price fell 0.04 to 100.37.