Nikkei posts early gains
Tokyo investors slip into a buying mood, snatching up office equipment and auto stocks.
February 5, 2004: 7:21 PM EST
TOKYO (Reuters) - Japanese stocks opened higher on Friday as investors, encouraged by gains on Wall Street, bought issues such as office equipment giant Canon.
The benchmark Nikkei 225 average was up 0.19 percent at 10,483.96. On Thursday, it hit a six-week intraday low of 10,374.90, down more than seven percent from a recent peak marked on January 20, before recovering some ground by the close.
The broader TOPIX index put on 0.30 percent to 1,028.60.
Toyota Motor Corp., the world's second-biggest auto maker, rose 1.72 percent to ¥3,550 a day after it posted a huge jump in quarterly profits, prompting it to lift its earnings forecasts for the full year.
