By Myra P. Saefong
TOKYO (MarketWatch) -- Japan's Nikkei 225 Average was up 0.5% at 10,192.77, and the Topix was up 0.1% at 894.86 in early trading Monday, with oil shares among the major advancers following last week's gains in oil prices. Shares of Nippon Oil Corp. (JP:5001 400.00, +10.00, +2.56%) (NPOIF 4.41, +0.08, +1.87%) were up 3%, and Japan Petroleum Exploration Co. Ltd. (JP:1662 4,080, -10.00, -0.24%) (JPTXF 44.95, -0.42, -0.91%) added 2.2%. Prices for January crude climbed about 5% last week, though they were down by 9 cents in early Monday trading at $73.27 on Globex. Some bank shares were lower, with shares of Mizuho Trust & Banking Co. (JP:8404 88.00, +1.00, +1.15%) (MZATF 0.97, +0.00, +0.47%) down 1.1%, and Shinsei Bank Ltd. (JP:8303 112.00, -5.00, -4.27%) (SKLKF 1.27, +0.13, +11.40%) losing 1.8%. South Korea's Kospi fell 0.2%, while Australia's S&P/ASX 200 tacked on 0.8%. |
