Tokyo up on hopes for quick war
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Stocks have been shaken by weeks of uncertainty.
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TOKYO, Japan (Reuters) -- Tokyo's Nikkei average rose nearly two percent by mid-morning on Tuesday, with Bridgestone Corp and other blue chips snapped up on chances of a swift and decisive U.S.-led attack on Iraq starting within days.
Bridgestone, Japan's largest tyremaker, climbed 2.73 percent to 1,393 yen by 0038 GMT, helping the Nikkei put on 1.94 percent or 152.71 points to 8,024.35. The TOPIX index of all first-section stocks firmed 1.75 percent to 790.85.
Still, the Nikkei was underperforming the U.S. Nasdaq index, which rallied 3.88 percent on Monday, an advance fuelled mainly by short-covering following a massive buildup of short positions.
"Wall Street is factoring in a short war in Iraq, and that of course has sparked a nice run here in Tokyo," said Norihiro Fujito, a senior investment strategist at Mitsubishi Securities.
"But the Tokyo market did not have such a huge buildup of short positions, which is why our rebound is comparatively weak."
Fujito also said many institutional players including corporate pension funds, were looking to sell above 8,000.
Sony Corp, the world's largest consumer electronics maker, jumped 4.01 percent to 4,410 yen after the dollar earlier rose to three-week highs near 119 yen before slipping back to around 118.60 ahead of a closely watched speech by U.S. President Bush giving Iraqi leader Saddam Hussein a final ultimatum to leave Iraq.
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