Nikkei Extends Weekly Surge to 7.7%; Sony, Nintendo, Dai-Ichi in Focus

Hiruki Nakamura
15 Nov, 2013
New York City

Stocks in Tokyo surged and the Nikkei soared 7.7% in the week after the yen weakened and closed above 100 mark. Sony gained ahead of its launch of PlayStation 4 in the U.S. and Nintendo reported a surge in game console U.S. sales in October. Dai-Ichi first-half sales and earnings soared.

[R]4:30 PM Tokyo – Stocks in Tokyo surged and the Nikkei soared 7.7% in the week after the yen weakened and closed above 100 mark. Sony gained ahead of its launch of PlayStation 4 in the U.S. and Nintendo reported a surge in game console U.S. sales in October. Dai-Ichi first-half sales and earnings soared.[/R]

Stocks in Tokyo surged after the yen weakened and closed above 100-mark and latest market surge was led by exporters.

The Nikkei index surged above 15,000 for the first time since May and registered the best weekly increase in four years.

The Nikkei 225 Stock Average jumped 289.51 or 1.9% to 15,165.92 and the Topix gained 20.49 or 1.7% to 1,239.04.

For the week, Nikkei 225 surged 7.7%.

The yen jumped to 100.21 against one dollar and extended its loss for the third day in a row.

Stocks in Review

Toyota Motor Corp jumped 60 yen to 6,370 yen and Honda Motor Co. gained 35 yen to 4,090 yen.

Nissan Motor Co Ltd rose 3 yen to 924 yen and the automaker plans to launch 100% electric commercial vehicle ""e-NV200"" in Japanese market in fiscal 2014.

Sony climbed 60 yen to 1,846 yen and the company is scheduled to launch its latest game console PlayStation today in the U.S.

Softbank Corp increased 140 yen to 7,740 yen. Fast Retailing Co. soared 1,350 yen or 3.9% to 35,600 yen.

The Dai-ichi Life Insurance Company, Limited soared 6.6% to 1,542 yen after the Japan-based life insurance company reported revenue in the first-half ending in September climbed 27.3% to 2.97 trillion yen from 2.34 trillion yen a year ago.

Net income in the period surged 70.9% to 47.94 billion yen compared to 28.05 billion yen and diluted earnings per share jumped to 48.33 yen from 28.34 yen a year earlier.

Mitsubishi UFJ Financial Group, Inc gained 1.6% to 645 after the Japan-based banking services provider lifted its profit forecast for the year to 910 billion yen from earlier guidance of 760 billion yen.

Mizuho Financial Group, Inc extended gains for the second day by 0.9% to 214 yen after the Japan-based bank raised its profit outlook for the year to 600 billion yen from 500 billion yen.

Mitsubishi Motors Corp rose 0.3% to 1,107 yen after the automobile company slashed the price of its i-MiEV electric mini-car in Japan by as much as $9,100 to increase the demand as makers of electric vehicles face slower-than-expected acceptance.

Nintendo Co., Ltd soared 5.2% to 13,070 yen and the game console maker confirmed the sale of 3DS video game hardware system in October in the U.S. doubled from the previous month to 452,000.

The sale data included 3DS, 3DS XL units and the recently launched 2DS. The sale of 3DS first-party software also reached 2 million, the most since December 2011.

Dwango Co. Ltd at Tokyo exchange surged 21.5% to 2,264 yen after Nintendo acquired 612,000 on a personal request of Dwango Chairman Nobuo Kawakami for his personal financial needs, Nintendo spokesperson Yasuhiro Minagawa said.