Japanese shares bounced back Thursday morning as investors picked up lower-priced stocks after recent losses, according to dpa. The benchmark Nikkei 225 Stock Average gained 19.97 points, or 0.22 per cent, to trade at 9,065.03 at the end of the morning session at 11:30 am (0230 GMT). The broader Topix index was up 3.43 points, or 0.45 per cent, at 769.26. Tokyo stocks opened lower after overnight losses on Wall Street and European markets, but after the Nikkei dipped below 9,000 for the first time in three months, investors started to buy cheaper shares. Shares in Toyota Motor Corp jumped 2.07 per cent after the carmaker projected Wednesday a net profit of 760 billion yen (9.5 billion dollars) and an operating profit of 1 trillion yen for the current financial year through March in a robust recovery from two 2011 disasters. Toyota's output and supply chains were disrupted by the March 2011 earthquake and tsunami in Japan and flooding in Thailand. Tokyo Electric Power Co, which runs the damaged Fukushima Daiichi Nuclear Power Station, surged 14.67 per cent after the government decided Wednesday to inject 1 trillion yen in taxpayers' money into the utility to help it deal with its financial problems after the nation's worst nuclear accident. The plant suffered core meltdowns at three of its six reactors after it was hit by the March 2011 disaster. On currency markets at 11:30 am in Tokyo, the dollar traded at 79.73-76 yen, down from Wednesday's 5 pm quote of 79.80-81 yen. The euro was quoted at 103.23-28 yen, down from 103.69-73 yen late Wednesday, and at 1.2949-2952 dollars, down from 1.2993-2994 dollars.
