Nikkei bounces from four-month low

TOKYO, Feb 5 (Reuters): The Nikkei average climbed more than 1 per cent on Wednesday, bouncing from a four-month low hit the previous day, as investors scooped up recently battered stocks like Panasonic and Toyota Motor following strong earnings results.

Panasonic Corp jumped more than 15 per cent and was the fifth-most traded stock on the main board after its quarterly earnings more than tripled.

Toyota Motor Corp rose more than 5 per cent and was the second-most traded stock after it raised its annual profit forecast to a record level, while Hitachi Ltd gained 4.1 per cent after also lifting its guidance.

 The three companies had fallen between 5.4 per cent and 10 per cent during the first two days of this week.    

Traders said such dips were creating buying opportunities, although such bargain hunting may be short-lived as most investors do not want to aggressively cover their short positions until they see the US jobs data due on Friday.    

"The Japanese market has not been able to avoid repercussions from global economic frustrations like poor US factory data and emerging market worries," said Jun Yunoki, a strategist at Nomura Securities. "But people have come to realise that some companies are overly sold despite their positive earnings outlooks."