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Tokyo cheered by support plan
TOKYO, Japan -- Japan's Nikkei average climbed at the opening on Thursday, with the market mood cheered by a rise on Wall Street and hopes for government measures to support stocks. The Nikkei was up more than half a percent to 7948.19 in early trading, while the broader TOPIX index was up 0.48 percent at 786.09. The Nihon Keizai Shimbun business newspaper said on Thursday that the government will unveil a six-point plan to support stock prices, including a call on the Bank of Japan to buy more shares held by banks. The BOJ has already said it would buy two trillion yen ($17 billion) of stocks held by Japanese banks to help trim their massive shareholdings and reduce their vulnerability to market swings. Retailer Aeon Co jumped 2.67 percent to 2,305 yen. The Nihon Keizai said the firm's parent-only sales appear to have risen two percent to 1.7 trillion yen in the year to February, replacing Daiei Inc as Japan's biggest supermarket chain. In South Korea the woes of the SK Group continued to be a drag on the Kospi, with that indicator falling 0.24 percent to 530.51 shortly after the opening. In Australia, the S&P/ASX 200 index fell yet again, off 0.2 percent to 2712.5 shortly before midday. The damage could have been far worse if not for media major and market heavyweight News Corporation up A19c to A$9.71. Mining giant BHP Billiton was more representative, shedding A14c to A$8.63. Across the Tasman, New Zealand's NZSE Top 50 index had lost nearly 1 percent to 1861.79. Reuters contributed to this report.
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