By Patrick Rial
March 17 (Bloomberg) -- Japanese stocks climbed for a third day on optimism bank earnings may rebound and as Hitachi Ltd. announced new restructuring plans.
Mizuho Financial Group Inc., Japan’s No. 2 list bank, added 3.2 percent on speculation the Bank of Japan may act to shore up bank capital at its policy meeting starting today and after London-based Barclays Plc said it had a “strong start” to 2009. Hitachi rose 0.4 percent. Sumco Corp., the world’s second- largest maker of silicon wafers, was bid higher by 1.5 percent after two brokerages lifted ratings on the shares.
The Nikkei 225 Stock Average added 62.53, or 0.8 percent, to 7,766.68 as of 9:03 a.m. in Tokyo, a third-consecutive gain for the gauge, which is still down 12 percent in 2009. The broader Topix index climbed 5.34, or 0.7 percent, to 747.03.
“While this bear market rally looks like it’s got further to go, stocks are starting to get a bit top heavy,” Mamoru Shimode, chief equity strategist at Resona Trust & Banking Co. said in an interview with Bloomberg Television. “Investors are looking to do some rotational buying today.”
To contact the reporter for this story: Patrick Rial in Tokyo at prial@bloomberg.net.
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