Japan stocks rise, with techs, cars, energy up

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Japan stocks rise, with techs, cars, energy up
LOS ANGELES (MarketWatch) -- Japanese stocks edged higher early Wednesday, erasing a negative open as tech, auto and energy shares marked solid gains, but with many equities trading ex-dividend, dampening buying interest. The Nikkei Stock Average added 0.3% to 8,635.60, while the Topix was up 0.5%. Overnight gains on U.S. and European markets helped buoy blue-chip exporters. Among techs, Sony Corp. and Sharp Corp. were each up 2.2%, Renesas Electronics Corp. improved by 2%, and Panasonic Corp. climbed 3.1%. In the auto sector, Subaru-maker Fuji Heavy Industries Ltd. rose 3.3%, and Nissan Motor Co. traded 2% higher. A more than 5% jump in benchmark Nymex crude-oil futures in the U.S. session drove energy issues up, even as crude gave up some of its gains in early Asian trade. Inpex Corp. rose 3%, Japan Petroleum Exploration Co. gained 4.2%, and JX Holdings Inc. was up 3.1%. Shares of All Nippon Airways Co. lost 2.5%, giving up some recent gains made earlier in the week ahead of the delivery of the first-ever Boeing Co. 787 Dreamliner.