Nikkei tops 11,500 for first time since April 14

Tokyo's Nikkei share average topped 11,500 for the first time since April 14 on Friday, putting on 0.86 percent for a sixth straight day of gains as high copper and gold prices spurred buying in Sumitomo Metal Mining and other commodities-related issues. Kobe Steel Ltd gained 3 percent to 265 yen as investors chased stocks with high dividends and strong profit prospects.
Copper hit an all-time peak in the spot market and US gold futures surged on views that investors were shifting funds into raw materials, due to recent rises in long-term US bond yields, Wall Street's modest gains and the sagging euro.
"Some speculative money is going into commodities which have volatile price movements," said Yutaka Miura, deputy manager of the equity information department at Shinko Securities.
The Nikkei ended up 97.65 points at 11,514.03, the highest close since April 14 when it closed at 11,563.17.
The sixth day of gains marked the longest winning streak since an eight-day rally that ended in March. The broader TOPIX index rose 1.02 percent to 1,172.33, the highest since April 13 when it ended at 1,176.39.
Sumitomo Metal, Japan's biggest gold producer, rose 3.4 percent to 768 yen while Mitsubishi Materials, a top-ranked non-ferrous metal smelter, gained 2 percent to 260 yen Steel shares gained, with the subindex ISTEL. Advancing 2.9 percent to be the best performing sector, as investors picked stocks with high dividends.
JFE Holdings rose 4 percent to 2,820 yen and Nippon Steel Corp The Nihon Keisei Timber reported on Thursday that all non-financial firms listed on the Tokyo Stock Exchange are expected to boost their dividend payments to a total 3.56 trillion yen for the year to March 2006, up 10 percent from the business year 2004/05.
Some chip-related stocks rose after data for May showed an improvement US chip equipment maker's book-to-bill ratio, or the ratio of orders to shipments.
Tokyo Electron Ltd gained 1.5 percent to 6,030 yen. Canon Inc Edged up 0.2 percent to 5,890 yen after the world's top maker of copiers and laser printers said on Friday it would invest 80 billion yen on a new factory to boost output of ink and toner cartridges.
Trade volume increased for the fourth straight session, with 1.66 billion shares changing hands on the Tokyo bourse's first section, more than last year's daily volume average of 1.45 billion. Advancers swept past decliners 1,249 to 264.