Japan's Nikkei average rose 1.2 percent on Thursday, with buying of defensive shares such as drugmakers offsetting a tumble in Honda Motor Co (7267.T: Quote, Profile, Research) and other exporters that were hit by a firm yen. Top brokerages such as Daiwa Securities Group (8601.T: Quote, Profile, Research) jumped on a ratings upgrade, helping to buoy the overall market, while banking stocks rebounded after a sharp sell-off and earnings surprises from U.S. peers such as Northern Trust (NTRS.O: Quote, Profile, Research). But Sony Corp (6758.T: Quote, Profile, Research) fell nearly 3 percent after it said it may halt production at one Japanese TV plant, as it grapples with a slide in demand and a stronger yen that are widely expected to force the company to project its first operating loss in 14 years on Thursday. [ID:nT35311] "Investors appear to be moving money from exporters to defensive stocks for now as it's hard to keep dumping shares considering they are rather undervalued at this point," said Takashi Kamiya, chief economist at T & D Asset Management. "In the last few days, eyes have been also shifting to Europe from the United States. The way that the euro and the pound have weakened will definitely deal a blow to Japanese exporters." In choppy trade, the benchmark Nikkei added 94.69 points to 7,996.33, after earlier falling to hit its lowest point since Nov. 21. The broader Topix .TOPX gained 0.8 percent to 793.44. Analysts said a decision by the Bank of Japan to buy corporate bonds to ease credit strains for companies but to keep already low interest rates unchanged, had little impact on the market.

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