Japan Stocks Rise, Catching Up After Holiday

Japanese stocks rose in early Tuesday trade after a three-day weekend, as the market caught up with gains elsewhere in Asia on the back of a surprise rate-cut from China. The Nikkei Stock Average was quoted 0.5% higher, with the Topix up 0.7%, as a drop back for the yen also helped shares (the dollar was buying �118.34 compared to �117.67 around the time of Tokyo's previous stock close on Friday). Globally exposed blue chips moved broadly higher, with Panasonic Corp. up 2%, Toshiba Corp. up 1.4%, Hitachi Ltd. and Suzuki Motor Corp. up 2.1% each, Hitachi Construction Macheriny Co. up 3.6%, and Toyota Motor Corp. up 1.6%. Sony Corp. zoomed 5.3% higher, shrugging off reports saying its entertainment unit's computer system had been hacked by a party threatening to disclose the company's secrets. Among the telecoms, Softbank Corp. rose 1.5%, but its rivals with less exposure to foreign markets retreated, as NTT DoCoMo Inc. lost 0.9%, and KDDI Corp. fell 1.1%. Pioneer Corp. underperformed with a 0.4% gain, as its president told the Nikkei news that the audio-equipment company was looking to focus on automotive items and could make acquisitions related to that goal. Among other movers, Honda Motor Co. added 1.3% despite admitting that it failed to report more than 1.700 accident deaths and injuries to U.S. regulators over an 11-year period. And stock in budget airline Skymark Airlines Inc. plunged 7.8%, paring a large advance last week amid reports of a possible partnership with Japan Airlines Co. . Shares of JAL rose 0.6%.