Japan stocks jump on strong GDP, DoCoMo rises

[54anickel]

TOKYO, Feb 18 (Reuters) - Japanese stocks jumped on Wednesday morning after data showed that Japan's economy grew at a faster-than-expected pace in the last quarter of 2003, supported by robust exports and capital spending.

Gross domestic product (GDP) grew by a real 7.0 percent in October-December on an annualised basis, beating a median forecast of 4.6 percent, data released before the opening showed.

"This is strong confirmation that Japan's economy is on a recovery track. We're still very dependent on exports, but the numbers also show that consumption is holding up strong," said Tsuyoshi Segawa, strategist at Shinko Securities.