Tokyo stocks up by break on energy firms, exporters

Tokyo - Tokyo stocks rose on Wednesday morning, shrugging off a fall on overseas markets as oil-linked shares and banks rose while a halt in the yen's rally lifted exporters.

The Japanese market has been under pressure since weak GDP figures on Monday resurrected fears about growth in the world's number three economies, just as the stronger yen is taking a bite out of company profits.

But the dollar picked up against the yen Wednesday after comments from a senior US central banker suggested an interest rate hike could possibly come as early as next month.

The greenback rose to ¥100.54 from ¥100.30 in New York, where it briefly touched as low as ¥99.54, falling under the 100 level for only the second time this year.

The US unit is still below the ¥102 mark seen last week.

"Considering how much the yen has strengthened, Japanese shares are showing resilience," Chihiro Ohta, a senior strategist with SMBC Nikko Securities, told Bloomberg News.

"However, there aren't any reasons to actively buy Japanese stocks right now."

The benchmark Nikkei 225 index rose 83.38 points, to 16 679.89 by the lunch break, while the broader Topix index of all first-section shares was up 5.34 points, at 1 303.81.

Stronger oil prices are giving crude-linked shares a boost with energy explorer Inpex soaring more than five percent to ¥880.9 and refiner JX Holdings jumping 2.25% to ¥385.7.

Banking giants Mitsubishi UFJ Financial Group and Sumitomo Mitsui Financial Group gained 2.39% to ¥530.4 and 2.10% to ¥3 399.

Exporters rose as the yen's rally fizzled, with Toyota tacking on 1.66% to ¥5 973 and Uniqlo operator Fast Retailing, a market heavyweight, jumping 0.82% to ¥36 800.