Nikkei rises 1 pct as property firms jump

By Taiga Uranaka

TOKYO (Reuters) - Japan's Nikkei stock average climbed 1 percent, rising for a second day on Wednesday with property firms Mitsubishi Estate Co Ltd (8802.T: Quote, Profile, Research) and Mitsui Fudosan Co Ltd (8801.T: Quote, Profile, Research) jumping after JPMorgan began coverage of them with an "overweight" rating.

Japan's second-largest bank Mizuho Financial Group (8411.T: Quote, Profile, Research) and its rivals extended gains on relief that major U.S. bank results were now over, with most not as dire as investors had feared.

"We are out of a dark tunnel now," said Harushige Kobayashi, head of research at Maruwa Securities.

But investors were not quite ready to jump back to the market, with many waiting to see how Japanese earnings results for the April-June quarter that start later next week pan out.

"The market is like a lizard bathing in the sun. It's getting warm and its eyes have started moving but it has not warmed up enough to start running around," said Kobayashi.

The benchmark Nikkei .N225 ended up 127.97 points at 13,312.93 after rising as high as 13,388.63 at one stage.

The broader Topix climbed 1.2 percent to 1,303.35.

Mizuho rose 4.3 percent to 583,000 yen and Mitsubishi UFJ Financial Group (8306.T: Quote, Profile, Research), the nation's biggest bank, climbed 2.4 percent to 1,010 yen.