By Patrick Rial Nov. 14 (Bloomberg) -- Japanese stocks climbed as investors snapped up shares trading near the cheapest valuations on record, the yen weakened and expectations grew that a financial summit this weekend will produce policies to stabilize markets. Isuzu Motors Ltd., which saw its valuation slump to about 3 times trailing earnings last month, rose 4.1 percent. Kubota Corp. jumped 8.7 percent after the yen dropped from a two-week high and Nomura Holdings Inc. said sales of the region's largest maker of tractors will remain strong in Asia. Sumitomo Trust & Banking Co. gained 5.1 percent ahead of an emergency meeting of world leaders to deal with the financial crisis. The Nikkei 225 Stock Average gained 250.33, or 3 percent, to 8,488.97 as of 12:46 p.m. in Tokyo. The broader Topix index climbed 15.04, or 1.8 percent, to 852.57. The Nikkei has lost 1 percent this week, while the Topix has fallen 3.1 percent. ``I've been telling our clients that just looking at valuations, you can see that the declines are excessive,'' said Seiji Iwama, a Tokyo-based fund manager at Daiwa SB Investments Ltd., which oversees $53 billion. ``Japanese companies are not only cheap, they're in a relatively stronger position than their foreign rivals.'' The Standard & Poor's 500 Index rallied in the final hour of trading yesterday to close 6.9 percent higher in New York, as a rebound in oil prices boosted shares including Exxon Mobil Corp. Crude rose again today, helping lift shares in Inpex Corp., Japan's largest energy explorer, by 7.7 percent. Cheap Shares Isuzu, Japan's third-biggest maker of commercial vehicles, climbed 4.1 percent to 151 yen. Nintendo Co., a video-game maker whose dividend yield rose above 5 percent as the stock price slumped, advanced 5.6 percent to 30,150 yen in Osaka. The company's Wii console sales soared 55 percent in the U.S. last month, an industry group said. Shares on the main board of the Tokyo Stock Exchange trade at an average of 0.98 times book value. The average had never dropped below 1 prior to the current financial turmoil. The previous low of 1.18 in March 2003 coincided with the bottoming of Japan's market and was followed by a four-year rally that saw the Topix index more than double. Kubota, which generates more than half its sales abroad, advanced 8.7 percent to 563 yen, bringing its weekly climb to 20 percent. Tokyo-based Nomura analyst Shigeki Okazaki raised his rating on the stock to ``buy'' from ``neutral,'' citing demand in Asia for agriculture equipment as well as falling steel prices. Konica Minolta Holdings Inc., a camera maker whose shares trade at 5.5 times earnings, rallied 14 percent to 623 yen. Today's move is the 14th time in the past month the stock has changed more than 10 percent in a day. The company's operating profit rises by 1 billion yen ($10 million) for every 1 yen Japan's currency weakens against the euro. G-20 Response The yen weakened to as much as 98.09 today versus the dollar from 95.62 at the close of stock trading in Tokyo yesterday. Against the euro, the yen dropped to as low as 125.73, from 119.23. A weaker yen increases the value of Japanese exporters' dollar-denominated sales when converted into local currency. Sumitomo Trust rose 5.1 percent to 431 yen. Chuo Mitsui Trust Holdings Inc. advanced 3.4 percent to 332 yen. Leaders from the Group of 20 nations will begin a weekend meeting in Washington later today to coordinate government responses to the worst financial crisis in 80 years. European leaders including French President Nicolas Sarkozy and British Prime Minister Gordon Brown have called for restructuring the international regulatory system to deal with the credit crisis. Inpex jumped 7.7 percent to 491,000 yen after it won rights to explore an offshore field in Indonesia and crude prices rebounded a second day from a 21-month low. ``Explorers can't do anything without drilling rights,'' said Fumiyuki Nakanishi, an equity strategist at SMBC Friend Securities Co. ``Given natural resources run out sooner or later, only those who have rights will survive at the end of the day.'' Ulvac Inc., a Japanese solar-cell and semiconductor equipment maker, plunged 11 percent to 1,342 yen. Nomura cut the shares to ``buy'' from ``strong buy'' due to spending cuts at memory companies. Nikkei futures expiring in December added 2.9 percent to 8,500 in Osaka and gained 3 percent to 8,500 in Singapore. To contact the reporter for this story: Patrick Rial in Tokyo at prial@bloomberg.net.

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