20.09.201305:19:44UTC+00Japan stocks advance, poise for weekly increase

Japanese stocks rallied higher in early trading action Friday, shyly following up on two previous sessions of advances of more than 1.4% for the benchmark. The Nikkei Stock Average soared 40 points, or 0.3%, to 14,810.66, moving closer to a bull market, or an increase of 20% from a recent low. Among auto makers, Mazda Motor Corp. shares traded 1.4% greater following a Nikkei newspaper report that the firm will begin shipping compact vehicles to Europe from its new plant in Mexico as early as next year. Shares of Honda Motor Co. bolstered 0.9%, although the firm announced it's recalling 374,000 vehicles in the U.S. to fix possible defects with airbag units. As Apple Inc. launches worldwide sales of its new iPhones, shares of carriers Softbank Corp. and KDDI Corp. edged up 0.3% and 0.2%, respectively. Stock in NTT DoCoMo Inc., which is starting sales of the iPhone this year, tacked on 0.5%. The Nikkei Stock Average was on track to bolster 2.7% for the week.