Kyodo economic news summary -2-

---------- Nippon Steel, Arcelor Mittal to strengthen alliance

TOKYO - Nippon Steel Corp. said Friday it has exchanged a memorandum with the world's largest steelmaker, Arcelor Mittal of Luxembourg, to strengthen their partnership mainly in steel sheets for vehicles.

Since Mittal Steel Co. of the Netherlands acquired Nippon Steel's alliance partner Arcelor SA of Luxembourg in 2006 to create Arcelor Mittal, the Japanese steelmaker and Arcelor Mittal have been considering how to treat the alliance formed before the merger. Nippon Steel said it has confirmed that Arcelor Mittal will inherit the alliance arrangements of Arcelor.

---------- Tokyo stocks rise sharply in morning after Wall Street surge

TOKYO - Tokyo stocks soared Friday morning on a buying spree in mainstay large-cap issues following an overnight surge in New York.

The 225-issue Nikkei Stock Average ended the morning session at 18,235.15, gaining 251.01 points, or 1.40 percent, after three straight sessions of declines. The Topix index of all First Section issues on the Tokyo Stock Exchange was up 20.62 points, or 1.17 percent, to 1,783.68.

---------- Euro hits record high vs. yen, dollar hovers at mid-122 yen level

TOKYO - The euro hit another all-time high against the yen in the upper 168 yen range Friday morning in Tokyo as market players bet there would be further interest rate hikes in the eurozone.

The U.S. dollar moved in a narrow range around the mid-122 yen level as investors refrained from actively buying the dollar despite a rise in overnight U.S. stocks.

---------- Key JGB prices fall on weaker Tokyo stocks

TOKYO - Prices of the benchmark 10-year Japanese government bond fell Friday morning in response to a surge in Tokyo stocks and overnight rises in U.S. long-term interest rates.

In interdealer trading, the yield on the No. 287 1.9 percent issue rose 0.020 percentage point from Thursday's close to 1.920 percent.