LONDON (ShareCast) - The Nikkei rose above 10,000 Thursday but later slipped just under as jitters about a rise in US interest rates outweighed optimism about global economic recovery.
The Nikkei settled at 9,981, down 10 points after earlier
hitting 10,022 in Tokyo.
The market was little moved by Japanese data showing the country's economy shrank a revised 3.8% in the first three months of this year. Over the year, it contracted 14.2%, which is smaller than the original estimate of 15.2%.
Resource stocks remained in demand with shares in Nippon Steel (Berlin: NPS.BE - news) up 5.7% after a newspaper report said the group is increasing current capacity. The stock was also boosted by Morgan Stanley (NYSE: MS - news) increasing its rating on the sector to "attractive" from "in-line." The broker said previous uncertainties about the sector have now lifted. JFE Holdings (Frankfurt: 724564 - news) added 4.3% and Kobe Steel (Frankfurt: 858737 - news) rose 4.9%.
The Hang Seng rose slightly on Thursday as investors digested a mixed bag of economic data. China's exports declined 26.4% in May from a year earlier while imports also fell 25.2%. A separate report showed an increase in investment spending.
Urban fixed-asset investment rose 32.9% in the five months to the end of May from a year earlier, according to the statistics bureau in Beijing.
In company news China Petroleum & Chemical, known as Sinopec, rose 3.7% after one its units predicted that it would return to profit in the first half of 2009.
The Hang Seng ended 5 points higher in Hong Kong at 18,791.
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