Nikkei at New 15-Year High on 8-Year Low Yen Weakness

Hiruki Nakamura
28 May, 2015
New York City

Ten day rally lifts Nikkei average in Tokyo by 5% and the yen traded at a new 8-year low. Retail sales in April increased 5% from a year ago month and seasonally adjusted sales rose 0.4% from a month ago. Sales data have been distorted ahead of last April sales tax increase.

[R]4:30 PM Tokyo – Ten day rally lifts Nikkei average in Tokyo by 5% and the yen traded at a new 8-year low. Retail sales in April increased 5% from a year ago month and seasonally adjusted sales rose 0.4% from a month ago. Sales data have been distorted ahead of last April sales tax increase.[/R]

The benchmark Nikkei 225 average extended gains for the tenth day in a row and the yen traded at a new eight-year low.

Retail sales in April climbed 5% to 11.56 trillion yen after 9.7% decline in March, the Ministry of Economy, Trade and Industry said today.

The department added on seasonally adjusted basis retail sales in April increased 0.4% from 1.8% decline in a month ago.

In April, sales from large retailers soared 8.6% to 1.61 trillion yen and recovered from the 13.1% plunge in March.

The Nikkei 225 Stock Average increased 78.88 or 0.4% to 20,551.46 and the broader Topix index gained 11.43 to 1,672.76.

The yen closed at 123.75 against a dollar, a low not seen since July 2007.

Stocks in Review

Ajinomoto Co Inc rose 0.4% to 2,573.50 yen after the Nikkei daily said flavour seasonings maker plans to build a new packaging plant in Kanagawa Prefecture and spend 4 billion yen.

Ryohin Keikaku Co Ltd increased 0.1% to 20,330 yen after the Nikkei news reported self branded goods retailer’s revenue for the first-quarter for the March-May period to climb 8% to 72 billion yen and operating profit to jump 6% to 7 billion yen.

Sony Corporation rose 0.2% to 3,837 yen after the electronics products maker agreed to buy the U.S.-based start-up Optical Archive Inc. for undisclosed amount.

Universal Studios Japan, after six years the entertainment company plans to apply for re-listing on the Tokyo Stock Exchange with a total investment of around 45 billion yen.