BLBG: Japan Stocks Gain a 3rd Day on Stimulus Plan Hopes, Oil Rebound
By Masaki Kondo
Oct. 21 (Bloomberg) -- Japan stocks climbed a third day on speculation stimulus plans will jump-start economic growth in the U.S. and at home, and as a rise in oil boosted resource shares.
Honda Motor Co., Japan's second-biggest carmaker, climbed 6.8 percent. Oil explorer Inpex Corp., which has lost more than half of its value in the past five months, added 9.6 percent. Mitsubishi Estate Co., Japan's second-biggest developer, jumped 9.2 percent to a three-week high after a lending rate between banks fell the most in nine months, easing funding concerns.
``Investors are taking notice of the determination by governments to bolster economies,'' said Masaru Hamasaki, who helps manage about $3.3 billion as senior strategist at Toyota Asset Management Co. ``A decline in oil stocks made them sufficiently cheap, and it's not a bad strategy to buy them as long as you discount the volatility of commodities markets.''
The Nikkei 225 Stock Average advanced 300.66, or 3.3 percent, to close at 9,306.25 in Tokyo, bringing its three-day gain to 10 percent. The broader Topix index rose 29.27, or 3.2 percent, to 956.64, with more than three stocks rising for each that slumped on the Topix.
Federal Reserve Chairman Ben S. Bernanke yesterday said U.S. lawmakers should consider new measures to improve access to credit for consumers and businesses. Meanwhile, tax cuts in a proposed economic stimulus package in Japan may reach 2 trillion yen ($19.7 billion), the Mainichi newspaper said today.
Nikkei futures expiring in December rose 2.5 percent to 9,320 in Osaka and gained 2.8 percent to 9,320 in Singapore.
To contact the reporter for this story: Masaki Kondo in Tokyo at mkondo3@bloomberg.net.