Japanese stocks rose for the first time in four days as oil retreated and economic reports tempered concern about turmoil in the Middle East. Sony Corp., Japan’s biggest electronics exporter, gained 1.2 percent. Sharp Corp., a maker of flat-screen panels that gets almost half of its sales abroad, advanced 2 percent after the yen weakened. Mizuho Financial Group Inc., Japan’s third- largest publicly traded bank, rose 1.9 percent. Toyota Motor Corp., the world’s No. 1 carmaker, climbed 2.2 percent after Credit Suisse Group AG raised its rating on the stock. The Nikkei 225 Stock Average rose 0.7 percent to 10,526.76 at the close in Tokyo. The broader Topix index gained 0.8 percent to 941.93, with more than three stocks advancing for each that fell. Both gauges had the biggest gain since Feb. 14. “Shares are correcting from recent declines,” said Yoshinori Nagano, a senior strategist in Tokyo at Daiwa Asset Management Co., which oversees about $104 billion. “Oil and the yen have settled down a little bit and that’s helping to lift shares.” Indexes rose after assurances yesterday by the International Energy Agency it would release oil stockpiles to offset supply disruptions stemming from the unrest in Libya. Markets from New York to Tokyo declined this week, halting a rally in stocks that on Feb. 21 drove the Topix to its highest level since April, as concern about unrest in the Middle East overshadowed reports the global economy is improving. Weekly Drop For the week, the Nikkei lost 2.9 percent, while the Topix slid 3.3 percent, the biggest weekly drop since August, as oil surged amid the escalating conflict in Libya. Leader Muammar Qaddafi has lost control of much of the country’s oil-rich east and at least 300 people have died since a crackdown began 10 days ago on protesters calling for regime change. Japanese exporters gained after the yen weakened, improving the outlook for overseas earnings. Sony advanced 1.2 percent to 2,967 yen. Sharp increased 2 percent to 885 yen. Nintendo Co., a videogame maker that gets about 85 percent of its sales outside of Japan, climbed 3.5 percent to 25,000 yen. The yen fell to 113.46 against the euro, compared with 112.99 at the close of stock trading in Tokyo yesterday. A weaker currency boosts the value of overseas sales when repatriated. ‘Ride it Out’ Oil declined, reducing costs for Japanese companies and easing pressure on central banks in emerging economies to raise interest rates to combat inflation. New York oil futures retreated from $103.41 yesterday, highest since September 2008, after President Barack Obama said the U.S will be able to “ride out” supply disruptions resulting from turmoil in Libya. “The crisis in the Middle East probably won’t be resolved quickly, but it doesn’t look like it will spread to major oil producing countries like Saudi Arabia,” said Jun Nishizaki, chief portfolio manager at Nissay Asset Management Corp. “It doesn’t look like crude oil will keep going up.” Banks also rose after economic reports in Japan and the U.S. beat forecasts. Mizuho climbed 1.9 percent to 165 yen, while Mitsubishi UFJ Financial Group Inc., Japan’s largest lender, rose 0.7 percent to 450 yen. Sumitomo Mitsui Financial Group Inc., the No. 2 bank, gained 0.7 percent to 3,060 yen. Japan’s consumer prices excluding fresh food declined 0.2 percent in January from a year earlier, the statistics bureau said today in a report that showed deflation eased for a fourth month. Economists predicted prices would drop 0.3 percent. In the U.S., Labor Department figures showed applications for jobless benefits fell last week by 22,000 to 391,000. Analysts forecast claims would drop to 405,000. Carmakers were the biggest support for the Topix among the index’s 33 industry groups. Toyota jumped 2.2 percent to 3,755 yen and was the most-actively traded stock in Japan. Nissan Motor Co., Japan’s third-largest carmaker by sales, gained 0.7 percent to 838 yen. Credit Suisse yesterday raised the companies’ ratings to “outperform” from “neutral.” Honda Motor Co., Japan’s second-biggest carmaker, advanced 1.9 percent to 3,540 yen after Citigroup Inc. raised its rating on the company. To contact the reporter on this story: Akiko Ikeda in Tokyo at iakiko@bloomberg.net. To contact the editor responsible for this story: Nick Gentle at ngentle2@bloomberg.net.

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