TOKYO, May 29 - Japan's Nikkei average rallied to a two-month intraday high in mid-afternoon trade on Thursday, led by Fanuc Ltd <6954.T> and other exporters after the yen slipped to a four-week low and Wall Street maintained its upward trend. As of 0434 GMT, the Nikkei average <.N225> was up 1.61 percent or 132.36 points at 8,366.54 after rising to 8,383.93, its highest intraday level since March 24. The broader TOPIX index <.TOPX> gained 1.31 percent to 833.11.
"Buying has been brisk since this morning as investors scoop up blue chips hit recently by selling from private pension funds," said Koji Muneoka, head of domestic sales trading at HSBC. "Institutional investors can't ignore rising overseas markets and are reevaluating their portfolio weightings," he said.
Exporters led the rally after the dollar earlier climbed above 119 yen for the first time in nearly four weeks, raising hopes that profits earned abroad by Japanese corporations will get a boost when they are repatriated back into yen. Fanuc, Japan's top maker of industrial robots, surged 5.96 percent to 5,330 yen, consumer electronics giant Matsushita Electric Industrial Co Ltd <6752.T> jumped 5.62 percent to 1,090 yen and Canon Inc <7751.T> added 2.92 percent to 4,940. Shares of Sony Corp <6758.T> perked up 3.0 percent to 3,090 yen after the world's largest consumer electronics maker on Wednesday unveiled a new all-in-one game console, dubbed the "PSX", to help bolster its sagging bottom line.
Stocks with a small capitalisation also joined in the rally, with Shikibo Ltd <3109.T> above 100 yen for the first time in nearly three years in a rally that began on May 20 when the cotton spinner projected a big jump in profits this business year. Shikibo was up 21.69 percent at 101 yen, having gained more than 70 percent in the past eight trading days.//