By Masaki Kondo March 26 (Bloomberg) -- Japanese stocks rose, sending the Topix index toward its longest stretch of weekly gains in seven months, as a weaker yen boosted the earnings outlook for companies dependent on overseas demand. Canon Inc., a camera maker that gets 59 percent of its sales in the Americas and Europe, climbed 1.3 percent. The euro strengthened after European Central Bank President Jean-Claude Trichet said he welcomed a European Union agreement to aid debt- burdened Greece. Advantest Corp., the world’s largest maker of memory-chip testers, gained 3.6 percent after U.S.-based Qualcomm Inc. raised its profit forecast and memory prices jumped to more than a three-year high. The Nikkei 225 Stock Average climbed 1.1 percent to 10,946.11 as of 12:42 p.m. in Tokyo. The broader Topix also rose 1.1 percent to 962.20, with three times as many shares gaining as declining. “With the yen above 92 to the dollar, expectations for better earnings are bolstering the stock market,” said Yoshihiro Ito, a senior strategist at Tokyo-based Okasan Asset Management Co., which oversees the equivalent of $8.1 billion in Tokyo. “The Greece issue is somewhat subdued, but the problems of sovereign finance have yet to be eradicated.” The Topix has gained 1.4 percent this week, set for its fifth-straight weekly advance, as a government report showed the nation’s exports increased at the fastest pace in 30 years in February. That will be the index’s longest streak of weekly gains since Aug. 14. Weak Yen Companies in the Topix are estimated to post a 72 percent surge in earnings per share in the year starting April 1, as overseas demand helps boost revenue. Topix-listed shares trade at 33.3 times estimated earnings, the highest level globally, according to data compiled by Bloomberg. Canon, the world’s biggest digital-camera maker, jumped 1.3 percent to 4,240 yen. Sony Corp., an electronics manufacturer that gets 46 percent of its revenue from the U.S. and Europe, rose 1.4 percent to 3,520 yen. Electronics makers contributed the most to the Topix’s advance. The yen depreciated to 92.96 against the dollar around 2:40 a.m. in Tokyo, its weakest level since Jan. 8. It dropped to as low as 123.90 per euro from 122.44 at the 3 p.m. close of stock trading. A weaker yen boosts the value of overseas sales at Japanese companies when converted into their home currency. ECB President Trichet told reporters yesterday that he was “extraordinarily happy” about the “workable” solution governments in the region had devised. Euro-region countries would give non-subsidized loans to Greece, while the Washington- based International Monetary Fund would provide additional funds if needed. Memory Prices Advantest climbed 3.6 percent to 2,342 yen. Shin-Etsu Chemical Co., the world’s largest maker of silicon wafers for semiconductors, advanced 2.1 percent to 5,430 yen, while smaller rival Sumco Corp. rose 3.4 percent to 1,908 yen. Qualcomm, the world’s biggest maker of mobile-phone chips, jumped 5 percent in New York yesterday after boosting its second-quarter profit and sales forecasts. The Dramexchange Index, which tracks prices of the most widely used computer-memory chips, advanced 0.3 percent in Taiwan to the highest level since December 2006. Mitsubishi Estate Co., Japan’s No. 2 property developer, jumped 2.7 percent to 1,491 yen. Nomura Holdings Inc. raised its rating on the stock to “buy” from “neutral” after the company said operating profit will probably exceed its forecast by 2.1 percent in the year to March 31. Today is the last day investors can get rights to dividends for companies whose fiscal year ends March 31, according to Nomura. “Investors are snapping up high dividend-yielding shares, which is supporting the market,” said Tsutomu Yamada, a market analyst at kabu.com Securities Co. To contact the reporter for this story: Masaki Kondo in Tokyo at mkondo3@bloomberg.net.

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