By Akiko Ikeda and Masaki Kondo Dec. 11 (Bloomberg) -- Japanese stocks rose for the first time in four days as reductions in U.S. jobless claims boosted confidence that an economic expansion is increasing and brokerages lifted ratings. Nissan Motor Co., a Japanese carmaker that gets 35 percent of sales in North America, advanced 2.7 percent after the yen extended declines. Nomura Holdings Inc., Japan’s largest brokerage, gained 2.8 percent, as the stock was rated “strong outperform” and the brokerage business was rated “overweight” at Mitsubishi UFJ Securities Co. in new coverage. JTekt Corp., which makes autoparts, jumped 7.1 percent after the stock was boosted to “outperform” from “underperform” at Credit Suisse Group. “There isn’t much concern about the sustainability of the global economic recovery,” said Yoshinori Nagano, a senior strategist in Tokyo at Daiwa Asset Management Co., which oversees the equivalent of $96 billion. The Nikkei 225 Stock Average rallied 1.7 percent to 10,029.75 as of 1:46 p.m. in Tokyo. The broader Topix index gained 0.9 percent to 881.35 with about twice as many stocks advancing as declining. Both indexes widened gains from the morning trading session after China reported that industrial production and new loans increased more than expected. The Topix rose 1.7 percent this year to yesterday, the smallest return among the world’s 30 largest stock markets. The Standard & Poor’s 500 Index has gained 22 percent in 2009, while the Dow Jones Stoxx 600 Index has climbed 23 percent. Stocks in the Topix are valued at 36 times estimated earnings, compared with 17 times for the S&P 500 and 15 times for the Stoxx. China’s Economic Growth China’s industrial production in November climbed 19.2 percent from a year earlier, the biggest increase since June 2007 and more than economists had expected. Consumer prices rose 0.6 percent, the first increase in 10 months, according to the statistics bureau. New local-currency loans increased to 294.8 billion yuan ($43.2 billion) from 253 billion yuan in October, beating economists’ estimate, according to data released by the People’s Bank of China on its Web site today. Stocks also got a boost on speculation that demand for Japanese shares is increasing after net buying by foreign investors last week rose to the highest level in more than four years. In New York, the Standard & Poor’s 500 Index gained 0.6 percent yesterday after a report from the Labor Department showed the four-week average number of Americans filing for jobless benefits declined to a one-year low of 473,750. ‘Business Confidence Improves’ A separate report showed the trade deficit unexpectedly shrank 7.6 percent in October as a weaker dollar boosted exports in the period. “Companies’ downsizing of personnel is slowing and business confidence is improving,” said Juichi Wako, a senior strategist at Tokyo-based Nomura Holdings Inc. The Japanese currency dropped against all of its 16 major counterparts. The yen declined to 130.58 per euro as of 1:12 p.m. in Tokyo from 129.94 yesterday in New York. A weaker yen boosts overseas income at Japanese companies when converted into their home currency. Nissan rallied 2.7 percent to 720 yen. Fanuc Ltd., a maker of factory automation systems that gets almost 70 percent of sales outside Japan, gained 2.4 percent to 8,050 yen. Sony Corp., an electronics maker that earns almost 25 percent of sales in the U.S., rose 2.2 percent to 2,545 yen. Brokerages Advance Mitsubishi UFJ Securities initiated coverage of Japan’s brokerage industry at “overweight.” Nomura Holdings, which was rated “strong outperform” added 2.8 percent to 673 yen while Daiwa Securities Group Inc. advanced 0.9 percent to 469 yen after the stock was rated “outperform.” JTekt Corp. and NTN Corp. climbed after the autoparts makers were raised to “outperform” from “underperform” by Credit Suisse Group analyst Shinji Kuroda. JTekt surged 7.1 percent to 1,103 yen, on course for its highest close since Sept. 25, and had the biggest gain on the Nikkei. NTN rose 2.9 percent to 395 yen. Foreign investors bought a net 608 billion yen ($6.9 billion) in Japanese shares in the week from Nov. 30 to Dec. 4, according to data released yesterday by the Tokyo Stock Exchange. It was the highest level since the period ended Aug. 12, 2005, when overseas investors bought a net 687.7 billion yen of stocks. It was also the second week in a row that foreign investors were net buyers. ‘Shorting Banks’ “There is expectation that demand for stocks will rise toward the end of this year as data shows overseas net buying has climbed,” said Nomura’s Wako. En-Japan Inc. soared 11 percent to 102,800 yen, gaining the most since July 22. The online recruiting service provider raised its full-year net income forecast 50 percent to 420 million yen, citing lower sales and administration costs. The stock was rated “buy” in new coverage by Masaaki Kitami, an analyst at Merrill Lynch & Co. Mitsubishi UFJ Financial Group Inc. fell 1.3 percent to 456 yen and was the heaviest drag on the Topix index. The company is preparing to sell as much as 1 trillion yen in shares, whose price will be set between Dec. 14 and Dec. 16, to boost capital and meet a possible tightening of international banking rules. “Investors are shorting bank stocks as they expect to buy new shares at low prices,” said Akio Yoshino, chief economist in Tokyo at Societe Generale Asset Management (Japan) Co., which manages the equivalent of $14 billion. The final price for Nikkei 225 futures and options expiring in December settled at 9,982.59 yen. To contact the reporters for this story: Akiko Ikeda in Tokyo at iakiko@bloomberg.net; Masaki Kondo in Tokyo at mkondo3@bloomberg.net.

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