The FINANCIAL -- Shares in Honda Motor Co. (7267) extended their gains on September 2 morning, with the stock price surpassing that of Toyota Motor Corp. (7203).

Toyota opened higher, but then lost 23 yen to 2,834 yen.

With the yen moderately depreciating against the dollar, Honda's stock briefly rose 66 yen to 2,873 yen. The stock was also supported by an overnight climb in U.S. shares.

For the year ending March 2011, Honda anticipates a 450 billion yen group operating profit, while its bigger rival expects a 330 billion yen profit.

According to Nikkei, Honda's stock has lost about 10% of its value in 2010, compared with a 25% fall for Toyota.

Investors are increasingly choosing Honda over Toyota in light of Honda's relative strength in earnings.

Honda's stock has never ended a day higher than Toyota's since the smaller firm conducted a stock split in 2006.

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