TOKYO: Japanese stocks joined the conga line of climbing markets Tuesday after the announcement of a deal between Greece and its creditors eased jitters over possible global fallout from the crisis. The Nikkei Average NIK, +1.49% jammed 1.5% higher, with the Topix I0000, +1.54% up 1.7%, after “risk on” sentiment sparked by the Greek news helped send the Japanese yen significantly lower (dollar USDJPY, +0.01% buying ¥123.60 vs. ¥122.54 a day earlier). The big tech and industrial blue chips led the advance, with Hitachi Ltd. 6501, +1.92% HTHIF, +1.59% up 2.8%, Sumitomo Electric Industries Ltd. 5802, +3.40% SMTOY, +2.08% up 3%, Sharp Corp. 6753, -0.56% SHCAF, -14.07% up 2.2%, Nissan Motor Co. 7201, +2.01% NSANY, +0.20% up 2.7%, and Fuji Heavy Industries Ltd. 7270, +3.33% FUJHF, -1.66% up 2.2%. Likewise, financials followed the overnight U.S. rally to fresh gains, as Nomura Holdings Inc. 8604, +4.88% NRSCF, +5.32% NMR, +0.57% added 2.7%, and Daiwa Securities Group Inc. 8601, +3.05% DSECF, -4.83% rose 2.3%. Lagging the broader market, Sony Corp. 6758, -1.35% SNE, +0.95% lay flat as CNBC reported the conglomerate had priced its share offering at a 3% discount to the stock’s previous close. Nintendo Co. 7974, -0.08% NTDOF, +1.19% rose just 0.2%, following weakness Monday on news its president had died of cancer. Airlines, meanwhile, failed to get a bump from weaker crude-oil prices, with ANA Holdings Inc. 9202, -0.28% ALNPF, +1.36% down 0.3% and Japan Airlines Co. 9201, +0.92% JAPSY, +1.77% up 0.5% after a Nikkei news report said Delta Air Lines Inc. DAL, +2.14% was offering to sponsor Skymark Airlines Inc.’s emergence from bankruptcy in a move that could “fuel competition in Japan’s closed market for domestic flights.”
