TOKYO (Reuters) - Japan's Nikkei average rose, driven by gains in Toyota Motor Corp <7203.T> after the automaker lifted its earnings guidance, while companies that have been battered after disappointing earnings also bounced.
The Nikkei was up 0.8 percent at 14,337.31 after trading as low as 14,130.86 earlier in the session. But the benchmark is still down 3.1 percent from a three-week high touched on October 23.
Toyota bounced from morning losses, advancing 0.5 percent after public broadcaster NHK said the carmaker would raise its operating profit forecast to 2.2 trillion yen from its previous estimate of 1.94 trillion yen.
The automaker confirmed the revised forecast after the market close.
Peer Nissan Motor Co Ltd <7201.T> rose 2.8 percent, recouping some of the previous session's 10.4 percent slump after it cut its annual earnings guidance, facing a slowdown in emerging markets and quality issues.
Industrial robot maker Fanuc Corp <6954.T> gained 1.5 percent, on track to snap a five-day losing streak after its quarterly orders disappointed investors.
But mobile operator SoftBank Corp <9984.T>, an index heavyweight, was down 2.1 percent, giving up some of the 5.6 percent rally in the previous two sessions on the back of its strong first-half earnings.
Fast Retailing Co Ltd <9983.T>, the second top-weighted loser after SoftBank, eased 0.8 percent after it said same-store sales at its Uniqlo causal clothing chain in Japan fell 13.8 percent last month because of warmer-than-usual temperatures and typhoons that discouraged shoppers.
The broader Topix index added 0.8 percent to 1,192.16, with 2.58 billion shares changing hands, the lowest in a week.
(Reporting by Dominic Lau; Editing by Shri Navaratnam)
