Japan Indexes Show Best First Week Gains in Fifteen Years

Chandrasekhar Atreya
07 Jan, 2011
New York City

The broader Topix index gained 3.1% in the week and its best first week performance in fifteen years. Panasonic plans to sell more energy saving white goods in North America. Sony Corp joins a raft of other makers in the tablet market. Overseas investors increase Japanese stocks exposure.

[R]5:00 PM Tokyo, Japan – The broader Topix index gained 3.1% in the week and its best first week performance in fifteen years. Panasonic plans to sell more energy saving white goods in North America. Sony Corp joins a raft of other makers in the tablet market. Overseas investors increase Japanese stocks exposure.[/R]

The Nikkei 225 Stock Average climbed 0.11% or 11.28 to 10,541.04 while the broader Topix advanced 0.2% to 926.42.

For the week the Nikkei and the Topix gained 3.1%, the best first week performance since 1996.

The yen ended the day at 83.47 yen to a dollar and 108.48 yen to a euro in Tokyo today.

Overseas investors were net buyers of Japanese stocks in the week ended January 1, with net purchases of 23.5 billion yen, according to data released by the Finance Ministry in Tokyo today.

Foreigners bought stocks worth 1.68 trillion yen while they sold 1.65 trillion yen worth of Japanese stocks, to make it the ninth such week in a row.

Sony Corp is planning to enter the Tablet computer market in 2011 and plans to be the second largest in the world by 2012, commented chief executive Howard Stringer at the largest consumer electronics show in Las Vegas.

Panasonic Corp plans to sell a range of energy saving white goods, including refrigerators and air-conditioners, in North America over the next several years, the company President Fumio Ohtsubo said at a news conference at the Consumer Electronics Show in Las Vegas.

The company is working to strengthen its environment-related business aiming to generate annual revenue in excess of 1 trillion yen from this segment in seven to eight years.

A New York arbitrator ruled in favor of Toyota Motor Corp in a case involving a former Toyota attorney who made headlines by accusing the automaker of improperly withholding evidence in product-liability cases.

In the ruling issued Tuesday, arbitrator Gary. L. Taylor dismissed Dimitrios Biller’s claims, which included defamation and ordered him to pay $2.6 million for confidentiality breaches and other matters and to return to Toyota all confidential documents in his possession.

Central Glass Co said today it plans to purchase an automotive glass plant in the U.S. doubling its production capacity for the product.

The company said it signed a basic contract with Zeledyne LLC to buy the Nashville, Tennessee plant that can process 2.5 million windshields a year and is capable of producing 450 tons of float glass daily.

Mitsui Engineering & Shipbuilding Co along with machinery maker Taziri Co have developed a device for separating food scraps and other raw waste from combustible garbage.

The new separator will enable municipalities to isolate raw garbage for synthesizing bio gas fuel while reducing the volume of waste that needs incineration, according to the two companies.

Stock Movers

Toyota Motor Corp rose 2.22% to 3,445 yen and Nissan Motor surged 4.36% to 861 yen.

Bridgestone Corp jumped 2.56% to 1,643 yen after PricewaterhouseCoopers LLP said car assembly in North America may increase 5% this year.

Inpex Corp sank 1.71% to 488,000 yen and Mitsubishi Corp, Japan’s largest commodities trader, lost 1.01% to 2,349 yen after crude oil and metal prices fell.

Resona Holdings slumped 3.85% to 524 yen after announcing a share sale to repay government bailout funds.

Mitsui Engineering & Shipbuilding Co rose 3.1% to 233 yen after announcing a device to separate food scraps from combustible garbage.