Roundup: Nikkei adds 0.31 pct. on weak yen, hopes for GPIF outlays

The Nikkei stock index added 0.31 percent Wednesday as a weak yen provided support for the market following a poor lead from Wall Street overnight and hopes for a continued influx of funds from the Government Pension Investment Fund also helped buoy the market.

The Nikkei 225 index gained 58.41 points to close at 18,723.52, while the broader Topix index of all first-section issues added 0. 92 points, or 0.06 percent, to finish at 1,525.67.

Traders here noted that the market got off to a negative start following U.S. shares being dragged down by a U.S. dollar that had rocketed to new highs, causing large corporations to worry about their net profits.

Brokers here said however that investors who had been concerned about the U.S. dollar rising so dramatically against the yen and devaluing their domestic share holdings in U.S. terms were outnumbered in later trade by those buying on dips and picking up exporter issues on hopes for higher earnings.

In addition the Government Pension Investment Fund (GPIF) with a balance of 137 trillion yen (1.1 trillion U.S. dollars) appointing three domestic equities managers recently to focus more on local equities, continued to provide support to the market on hopes for the continuation of cash flowing into domestic issues. "Japanese company earnings are good, the weaker yen is a boon, and there's stable buying demand from public institutions. Given the stability of Japanese stocks, we see very strong demand from both domestic and overseas players, so when it falls we should see this kind of supporting flow come in,"said Yusuke Kuwayama, a portfolio manager at Tokio Marine & Nichido Fire Insurance Co. in Tokyo.

The U.S. dollar rising to 121.49 yen from 121.07 yen during trading hours Wednesday was a boon for some exporters, with Sony adding 0.4 percent to 3,256.50 yen, although Nissan Motor skidded down 1.0 percent to close at 1,238 yen.

Pharmaceutical companies gained traction with Shionogi & Co. jumping 3 percent to 3,895 yen and Eisai advancing 2.9 percent to finish at 7,112 yen.

Consumer lenders and related firms were also in the spotlight, with Zenkoku Hosho Co. leaping 3.6 percent to 4,460 yen, while Orix Corp. gained 2.1 percent to close at 1,691 yen.

But energy related issues were dragged down by falling prices for crude, and exploration giant Inpex slumped 2.3 percent to 1, 371 yen, while Japan Petroleum relinquished 2.9 percent to finish at 3,820 yen.

Heavily weighted Nikkei component Fast Retailing, however, operator of the Uniqlo chain of high street apparel stores, rose 1. 13 percent to close the day at 44,920 yen.

Trading volume on Wednesday dropped to 1.92 billion shares on the Tokyo Exchange's First Section, down from Tuesday's volume of 2.13 billion shares, with advancing issues outnumbering declining ones by 939 to 778. Endi