Print | Close this window Nikkei up but trims gains, economy worries weigh Fri Oct 17, 2008 12:48am EDT TOKYO (Reuters) - Japan's Nikkei average rose 1.7 percent on Friday, with Canon Inc and other exporters up on a weaker yen a day after its worst fall since 1987, but early gains were trimmed by worries about a slowing global economy. NTT DoCoMo Inc and other telecoms shares rose after Nikko Citigroup upgraded its ratings on the stocks to "Buy" from "Hold," citing their attractiveness as a defensive play amid deteriorating business sentiment. Pharmaceutical companies also gained, with Astellas Pharma Inc jumping 8.8 percent and Chugai Pharmaceutical Co Ltd rising 4.4 percent, in an additional sign of investor demand for defensive stocks. "Concerns that the macro-economic environment will worsen further from here on remain strong," said Hideyuki Ishiguro, supervisor for Okasan Securities' investment strategy department. Tokyo shares were tracking Wall Street, which bounced back in a day of volatile trade. U.S. shares fell after weak economic data fueled recession fears but climbed as bargain hunters snapped up shares. But market players warned that economic fears had not faded and were keeping gains capped for now. Such worries could temper investor demand for exporter shares in the near term despite their gains on Friday, and limit gains by the Nikkei, Ishiguro said. "This is not a situation where we are likely to see a quick recovery to 10,000," he added. The Nikkei average rose 145.59 points to 8,604.04 after earlier rising more than 3 percent. On Thursday it fell more than 11 percent for its biggest one-day loss since the stock market crash of 1987. The broader Topix rose 2.5 percent to 886.25 after earlier rising more than 4 percent. (Reporting by Elaine Lies and Masayuki Kitano; editing by Sophie Hardach)

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