Roundup: Nikkei edges up 0.15 pct. on weak yen, hopes for Japan Inc.'s earnings

The Nikkei stock index edged up 0.15 percent Wednesday to a fresh one-month closing high on optimism for robust profit reports and outlooks ahead of earnings season here, and as a comparatively weak yen encouraged investors to seek out bargains in later trade.

The Nikkei 225 gained 27.43 points to finish at 17,795.73, while the broader Topix index of all first-section shares added 0. 25 percent, or 3.54 points, to end the day at 1,429.92.

Trading got off to a shaky start in early trade, however, local brokers said, following Wall Street closing lower overnight as some bellwether firms including Microsoft, Procter & Gamble and Caterpillar reported earnings and profit outlooks that came in below analysts'expectations.

A fall in prices for crude oil contributed to a circumspect mood, following Saudi Arabia, the world's biggest oil exporter, suggesting it won't adjust its output to avoid an ongoing worldwide glut as inventories in the U.S. continue to rise.

In addition, despite data showing that consumer confidence in the U.S. increased significantly in January, a 3.4 percent slump in durable goods orders in December added to cagey investor moves before the afternoon session, brokers said.

But the index turned positive on bargain-hunting in afternoon trade, spurred on by the U.S. dollar rising to 117.94 yen, compared to 117.90 yen logged in New York.

A weaker yen generally gives export-related issues a boost, as their respect firms see profit outlooks increased and yields augmented when repatriated from overseas on favorable exchange rates when the yen trades lower against its major counterparts. The firms'competitiveness are also boosted in foreign markets.

Equities analysts like Sumitomo Mitsui Trust Asset Management Co.'s Junichi Misawa noted that there were pluses and minus for the falling price of crude oil. "Lower oil prices will have a negative effect on countries that produce oil, including the U.S. The opposite is true for Japan, where we can hope for upwards earnings revisions on lower oil prices,"he said.

Other analysts said that following a spate of bargain-hunting this afternoon, investors' attention would now switch to the U.S. Federal Reserve's policy meeting due to conclude later Wednesday for clues about an interest rate hike, as well as news from the central bank here about its plans to purchase exchange-traded funds.

U.S. tech behemoth Apple Inc. announcing its own biggest-ever quarterly profit and that of a publicly company, with a net profit of 18 billion U.S. dollars in the fiscal first quarter, owing to more than 74 million of its iPhones being sold in the three months to the end of Dec., beating median analysts' expectations, helped lift the market mood, traders here also said.

With sales up 70 percent in its Chinese market, hopes were high for a rebound on Wall Street overnight and for earnings season in Japan, which is set to swing into full gear forthwith.

Air transportation issues gained on lower fuel prices with ANA soaring 3.3 percent to 325 yen, while Japan Airlines rose 2.7 percent to finish at 3,970 yen.

Consumer electronics giant Sony, maker of Xperia Z smartphones, added 2.7 percent to 2,824 yen, following reports it plans to slash around 1,000 jobs worldwide as it restructures its loss- making mobile business as it continues to lose ground against Apple and Samsung.

Shipping lanes and utilities gained on crude oil prices falling with Chugoku Electric Power, Japan's sixth largest supplier of electricity, leapt 6.6 percent to 1,614 yen, while the nation's third-largest shipper Kawasaki Kisen Kaisha Ltd. climbed 4.4 percent to close the day at 354 yen.

But oil exploration giant Inpex sank 0.9 percent to 1,306 yen, following a related index losing ground on concerns about Saudi Arabia's stance.

Industrial machinery makers also comprised the day's notable decliners following Caterpillar's disappointing results, with Komatsu reversing 2.3 percent to 2,587 yen, Kubota Corp. losing 1. 6 percent to 1,784 yen and Hitachi Construction Machinery shedding 0.4 percent to end at 2,488 yen.

Trading volume on Wednesday rose to 2.31 billion shares on the Tokyo Exchange's First Section, up from Tuesday's volume of 2.18 billion shares, with advancing issues outnumbering declining ones by 1,237 to 505. Endi