Asian stocks up as Europe tames its debt crisis

Tokyo: Japan's Nikkei stock average rose to a four-week high on Thursday on hopes that Europe will come up with actual measures to support Greece and shore up European banks.

Shares of major exporters such as Sony Corp, which were sold off during the market downturn until earlier this month on worries about the global economy, rose sharply as players bought them back on tentative signs of progress in the response to the European debt crisis.

Semiconductor-related shares gained after Dutch chip equipment firm ASML Holding NV reported better-than-expected quarterly sales, fuelling hopes of a

milder-than-expected slowdown in the chip sector.

The Nikkei benchmark climbed 1.2 per cent to 8,839.13 by the midday break, while the broader Topix index advanced 0.9 per cent to 760.44.

Resistance looms around 8,870, a high hit in mid-September, given lingering doubts over the health of the European financial system and the global economy. But the benchmark remained solidly above its 25-day moving average of 8,639.

It also broke above its 50-day moving average of 8,830 for the first time since August 4.

"Resistance points don't tell the complete story, because so much of the market's direction depends on the progress of the European debt plan and US earnings," said Hiroaki Osakabe, a fund manager at Chibagin Asset Management Co.

Analysts say gains could be limited ahead of more US earnings reports such as from JP Morgan later on Thursday, particularly since earnings guidance so far from companies such as Alcoa and PepsiCo has not been strong.

The yen's slide to a one-month low against the dollar also supported exporters.

TDK rose 5.8 per cent to 2,839 yen, while Panasonic climbed 3.1 per cent to 764 yen. Sony added 3.6 per cent to 1,571 yen.

Shares of camera and endoscope maker Olympus rose 4.9 per cent to 2,490 yen after Goldman Sachs analyst Toshiya Hari upgraded the stock from "neutral" to "buy" and set a 24-month target price at 3,800 yen, compared with a previous 12-month target price of 2,400 yen.

Chip-tester maker Advantest Corp jumped 5.7 per cent to 890 yen after ASML, the world's largest producer of semiconductor lithography machines, said it expects this year's fourth-quarter bookings to beat its third-quarter bookings.

Tokyo Electron Ltd rose 2 per cent to 4,045 yen and Dainippon Screen Manufacturing Co Ltd gained 3.6 per cent to 583 yen. ASML client chipmaker Elpida Memory Inc jumped 5.8 per cent to 562 yen.

Volume topped the previous day's morning total, with 736 million shares changing hands on the Tokyo Stock Exchange's main board, above Wednesday's 698 million shares. But it was still on track to come in below last week's daily average of 1.86 billion shares.