LOS ANGELES (MarketWatch) -- Japan's Nikkei Average (JP:NIK) traded 0.5% higher in the early minutes Tuesday, extending the previous day's 0.9% advance, with the market getting some support from overnight gains for U.S. shares and a slightly weaker yen (dollar at ¥101.56 vs. ¥101.40 at Monday's open). Among the gainers, Toshiba Corp. (JP:6502) (TOSYY) rose 1.7%, Hitachi Ltd. (JP:6501) (HTHIF) gained 1.5%, NEC Corp. (JP:6701) (NIPNF) improved by 2.5%, Bridgestone Corp. (JP:5108) (BRDCF) added 2.7% to extend gains over the past couple weeks following the company's purchase of U.S.-based Masthead Industries, and Mitsubishi Heavy Industries Ltd. (JP:7011) (MHVYF) traded 1.1% higher as a Wall Street Journal report said the industrial major's Mitsubishi Aircraft unit had reached a tentative deal to sell 40 jets for the planned revival of defunct U.S. carrier Eastern Air Lines Group Inc. Auto makers were firmer as well, with Nissan Motor Co. (JP:7201) (NSANY) up 1.3%, Toyota Motor Corp. (JP:7203) (TM) up 0.5%, and Honda Motor Co. (JP:7267) (HMC) leading the sector with a 1.8% advance after the company said it would start moving its portable outboard-engine production to China next April, according to a Nikkei news report. Among decliners, Alps Electric Co. (JP:6770) lost 1.3%, and chemical-engineering company Showa Denko KK (JP:4004) pulled back by 1.4%, getting no love from a Nikkei report tipping its January-June profit to come in 50% higher than in the year-earlier period. Japanese investors were also awaiting the latest policy decision from the Bank of Japan, expected sometime around the market's midday break, though most economists saw little chance of any change to policy.
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