JAPAN STOCKS: Japanese shares continue to post modest gains in the final hour, with sentiment still positive after better-than-expected results from the Bank of Japan's Tankan quarterly survey and amid easing concerns about the eurozone's debt crisis. Marine transport firms continue to lead the benchmark higher after the prices for shipping raw materials as measured by the Baltic Dry index topped 1,000, with Showa Denko KK (4004) climbing 4.55%, and Nippon Yusen KK (9101) jumping 2.39%. Electric machinery and financial stocks are also higher, with Oki Electric Industry (6703) rising 3.13%, and MS&AD insurance Group Holdings (8725) advancing 2.02%. Utilities and some electronics makers are weighing, with Tepco (9501) now down 1.30%, and consumer electronics giant Panasonic Corp (6752) falling 1.09%. The Nikkei 225 index is now trading up 0.25% at 9,028.85.