(Updates to midmorning)
By Aiko Hayashi
TOKYO, Dec 10 (Reuters) - The Nikkei average rose 0.3 percent on Wednesday, helped by gains for exporters such as Tokyo Electron as the yen softened, while investors found some comfort in machinery orders data that was not as bad as feared.
Sony Corp slipped more than 2 percent after the company said it will cut 16,000 jobs, curb investment and pull out of some businesses to save $1.1 billion a year as the financial crisis ravages demand for its electronics products.
The job cuts are the biggest announced by an Asian firm so far in the crisis.
However, Yoshinori Nagano, a chief strategist at Daiwa Asset Management, said investors were buying recently sold-off shares and selling those that had been rising on expectations of global stimulus efforts, rather than reacting to specific news.
"The machinery data also provided some relief as it was in line with forecasts, though it wouldn't have been a surprise even if it posted a two-digit fall considering economic activities almost stalled in September-November after Lehman's failure."
The benchmark Nikkei added 21.24 points to 8,417.11, after opening slightly lower. The broader Topix was flat at 817.69.
Japan's core machinery orders fell a bigger than expected 4.4 percent in October, underlining weakness in corporate capital spending as the economy slides deeper into recession.
In New York on Tuesday, the dollar shed 0.8 percent to 92.11 yen, above a session trough of 91.94 yen, Reuters data showed. It was trading around 92.50 yen on Wednesday, giving a little relief to Japanese exporters who repatriate profits.
Shares of Tokyo Electron shot up 5.9 percent to 2,590 yen, while Honda Motor Co added 2.9 percent to 1,898 yen.
Takahiko Murai, general manager of equities at Nozomi Securities, said he expects to see other companies follow suit after Sony's restructuring plans.
"The news made investors reaffirm the dire outlooks for corporate earnings, underscoring Japan's biggest problem, which is the country depends on overseas demand for growth," he said.
Sony shares lost 2.2 percent to 1,855 yen. (Editing by Rodney Joyce)