Nikkei rises to highest in 4 months

Japan's key stock index rose to its highest in four months Wednesday as investors welcomed the dollar's stability and upbeat earnings reports from telecommunications giant NTT and other companies.

The Nikkei 225 index climbed 164.82 points, or 1.18%, to 14,118.55 points on the Tokyo Stock Exchange, its highest finish since Jan. 10.

The dollar's strength against the yen pushed up exporter issues, while the market welcomed results from some leading companies such as Nippon Telegraph and Telephone Corp., which Tuesday reported a 32% jump in profits.

Amid lingering concerns about the health of the U.S. economy, however, "investors don't want to take a big risk at this point," said Yasuyoshi Shizuma at BNP Paribas (BNP).

In currencies, the dollar traded at ¥104.88 midafternoon in Tokyo, up from ¥104.74 late Tuesday in New York. In March, the dollar fell below ¥100.

Automakers Honda Motor Co. (HMC) surged 3.11%, while Mazda Motor Corp. rose 1.32%, while electronics maker NEC gained 0.96%.

Mining shares gained after base metals on the London Metal Exchange mostly gained overnight, especially zinc on reports about smelter shutdowns in China after a strong earthquake. Toho Zinc gained 3.5% and Nippon Mining Holdings added 4.2%.

Electronics maker Pioneer nose-dived 18% on disappointing earnings reports and a forecast for a fifth consecutive year of losses amid a difficult business environment on costly restructuring in its TV operations.