Japan Stocks in 7-day Rally; Nintendo, Nippon Paper Up

Nigel Thomas
06 Jul, 2011
New York City

The benchmark index Nikkei increased 1.1% and extended gains for the sixth session and broader Topix index added for the seventh session in a row. The Nikkei has rebounded to a loss of 3.4% from the fall of 17% after the March 11 earthquake. Exporters and trading companies led the gainers.

[R]4:00 PM Tokyo – The benchmark index Nikkei increased 1.1% and extended gains for the sixth session and broader Topix index added for the seventh session in a row. The Nikkei has rebounded to a loss of 3.4% from the fall of 17% after the March 11 earthquake. Exporters led the gainers. Resource linked companies and trading houses also participated in the rally.[/R]

Stocks in Japan closed higher for the seventh day in a row as European investors step up buying Japanese stocks and Japanese government approved a second emergency budget of 2 trillion yen or $25 billion.

Separately, Economy, Trade and Industry Minister Banri Kaieda said on Wednesday the ministry will conduct stress test on nuclear plants and determine their viability in the face of another severe natural disaster.

The results of tests will not determine if and when the plants are restarted but municipal governments will decide the fate of these plants, according to a news report published on Nikkei.com.

The Nikkei 225 Stock Average soared 1.1% to 10,082.48 and the index gained 5% in the last six sessions and traded above 10,000 for the second time in two months.

The Nikkei index has rebounded from the decline of 17% after the March 11 earthquake to a loss of 3.4% and in dollar terms down 1%.

The broader Topix index added 1% to 873.51. The Topix index extended the gains for the seventh day in a row.

Tokyo Stock Exchange first section trading volume increased to 1.86 billion shares from 1.82 billion shares on Tuesday. Advancers led decliners by 1,085 to 401.

The yen fell to 81.15 from 80.70 against one dollar and to 117.20 from 116.95 against one euro.

Stock Movers

Exporters led the gainers in trading today with Europe linked companies in favor. Energy linked stocks also rose after crude oil gained 2% in international markets.

Nintendo increased 3.1% to 15,900 yen on the speculation that Pokemon game may be released as early as late summer for iPhone. Nintendo controls 32% of Pokemon Co.

Japan Petroleum increased 3.8% to 3,920 yen and Inpex gained 1.7% to 598,000 yen.

Trading companies closed higher. Mitsubishi Corp increased 1.2% to 2,072 yen ad Mitsui & Co. added 2.2% to 1,440 yen.

Nippon Paper gained 5.2% to 1,910 yen after it planned to increase paper prices by 10%. The news also lifted Hokuetsu Paper Co. 4.9% to 518 yen and Oji Paper by 2.3% to 409 yen.