Japanese stocks gained, led by Sony
Corp., after the company said it will achieve a goal of 5 percent
profit margin by March 2008 and Goldman, Sachs & Co. raised its
rating on the shares.
Nippon Steel Corp. and other steelmakers advanced after
investors judged recent declines excessive. Steelmaker shares as
a group dropped 6.9 percent in the past three sessions.
``Sony virtually had only bad news last year so the CEO's
comment and the rating change spurred a rally today,'' said
Hiroshi Chano, who helps look after $7.3 billion at Yasuda Asset
Management Co. in Tokyo. ``Last week's drop in shares including
steelmakers was too big.''
The Nikkei 225 Stock Average climbed 146.18, or 0.9 percent,
to 17,237.77 after dropping by as much as 0.6 percent. The
broader Topix index jumped 16.79, or 1 percent, to 1692.12,
reversing an earlier loss of as much as 0.3 percent.
