Shares of Hitachi and Mitsubishi Heavy get merger boost 4 August 2011 Last updated at 01:04 GMT

Hitachi reported last week that its net profit dropped 97% in the three months to June

Shares of Japanese infrastructure giants Hitachi and Mitsubishi Heavy have gained on merger speculation.

Foreign and domestic media reported on Thursday that the two firms were set to start talks to merge some businesses. The companies denied the reports when contacted by the BBC.
Hitachi shares rose 3% in early trading, with Mitsubishi up 5%.
Hitachi and Mitsubishi Heavy are two of Japan's biggest firms, and a merger would help make them more competitive.
A weakening domestic market means many Japanese firms want to cut costs, while they are also facing increased competition from foreign rivals.
Earlier on Thursday, the Tokyo Stock Exchange halted trading in shares of both firms for an hour.
Hitachi shares were recently at 478 yen, with Mitsubishi at 365 yen.
News providers including Bloomberg, Agence France Presse, Nikkei Business Daily and the Wall Street Journal carried reports on Thursday claiming that the two firms were about to start talks regarding a possible merger.