Japan's Nikkei stock average
edged higher on Wednesday, taking comfort from a rise on Wall
Street, though the debt turmoil in the euro zone capped gains.
Spain and Italy, which are now at the forefront of Europe's
sovereign debt crisis, will test investor appetite this week
with bond auctions, while the European Central Bank is due to
hold a rate-setting meeting later in the day.
A trader, however, said the U.S. KBW banks index,
which advanced 1.9 percent on Tuesday, was a good indicator of
risk appetite for Japanese stocks.
Sumitomo Mitsui Financial Group, Mizuho Financial
Group and Mitsubishi UFJ Financial Group rose
between 0.9 and 1.6 percent.
(Reuters)
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