Japan Stocks Rise for Fifth Day as Goldman Boosts Steelmakers

By Patrick Rial and Satoshi Kawano

Oct. 13 (Bloomberg) -- Japanese stocks climbed for a fifth day, the longest winning streak for the Nikkei 225 Stock Average since July. Steelmakers led gains after Goldman Sachs Group Inc. boosted its stance on the industry.

JFE Holdings Inc., Japan’s second-largest steelmaker, advanced 4.8 percent after Goldman made it a “conviction buy” and the World Steel Association said the market has bottomed out for the alloy. Honda Motor Co., which generated 86 percent of its sales overseas last year, rose 2.2 percent after the dollar strengthened. Japan Airport Terminal Co., the operator of buildings at Tokyo’s Haneda Airport, soared 19 percent after the Asahi newspaper said it may be made into an international hub.

“There’s no mistaking that the global economy is recovering,” said Yoshinori Nagano, a senior strategist in Tokyo at Daiwa Asset Management Co., which oversees the equivalent of $96 billion. “We’ll see some relatively strong earnings being posted by companies in the coming weeks and there are likely to be more forecast upgrades than downgrades.”

The Nikkei 225 climbed 0.6 percent to 10,076.56 at the close in Tokyo. The broader Topix index added 0.4 percent to 901.40, with about two stocks advancing for each that retreated. Both indexes gained for a fifth day, the longest such streak for the Nikkei since July 27. Japanese markets were closed yesterday.

To contact the reporter for this story: Patrick Rial in Tokyo at prial@bloomberg.net.