Nikkei bounces back as semiconductor-related shares gain

SYDNEY, April 14 (Reuters) - Japanese shares rebounded on
Tuesday, led by semiconductor-related companies and other tech
stocks, although trading was subdued as investors awaited
earnings from prominent companies.
The benchmark Nikkei average .N225 rose 1.9% to 19,402.32
by the midday break, with the volume of shares traded on the
main board valuing only at 989 billion yen ($9.2 billion), well
below the average.
The Nikkei's volatility index .JNIV , a measure of
investors' volatility expectations based on option pricing and
considered to be a fear gauge, slid 10.7% to 38.01, its lowest
level in three weeks.
Shares of semiconductor-making equipment producers were in
demand following a 1.4% gain overnight in the U.S. Philadelphia
semiconductor index .SOX .
Silicon wafer producer Sumco Corp 3436.T jumped 4.8%, test
device maker Advantest Corp 6857.T gained 4.9% and chip-making
gear manufacturer Tokyo Electron Ltd 8035.T rose 2.7%.
The Nikkei's heavyweight SoftBank Group Corp 9984.T
climbed 3.3%, shrugging off an earlier announcement that its
Vision Fund will post a 1.8 trillion yen loss in the year ended
March. While that is going to result in the entire group's first
annual loss in 15 years, some kind of disastrous performance had
already been priced in, analysts said.
FamilyMart Co Ltd 8028.T jumped 6.8% after the convenience
store operator forecast a 37.8% increase in net profit for the
current business year ending in February. The broader Topix .TOPX rose 1.0% to 1,419.39, with all
but four of the 33 sector sub-indexes on the exchange trading in
negative territory.
Retailer .IRETL.T , services .ISVCS.T and electric
machinery .IELEC.T were the top three performing sectors on
the main bourse.
Bucking the overall firmness, stocks of major construction
firms came under pressure as Shimizu Corp 1803.T dropped 4.4%
after the builder moved towards suspending construction in all
seven prefectures that have been put under an emergency decree.
The rest of Japan's top four construction companies,
Obayashi Corp 1802.T , Taisei Corp 1801.T and Kajima Corp
1812.T were down between 3.6% and 3.8%.
Elsewhere, the index of Mothers start-up shares .MTHR
advanced 4.2%.

($1 = 107.6500 yen)