Some offshore investors secured cheaper funds here in yen for investing in Japanese equities. They appeared to be nervous as they consider an end to the current ultra-loose monetary policy by the Bank of Japan would increase their costs.
Nippon Steel will finish strong in both the third quarter and in the full year. A strong domestic market and weak yen has helped the company achieve positive earnings.
But strong buying interest appeared to beat profit-taking in the end.
Good economic reports provided us a relief and I expect stocks will rebound from yesterday's losses.
Large technology companies continue to attract investors as there is a good chance they will raise their earnings forecasts. It looks like the possible rate increase by the Fed in May won't be the last one, and that's weighing on stocks.
Some investors focused on domestic demand-led sectors, while high-tech firms appeared to be weaker due to lingering worries over the firmer yen.
The prospects for the steel industry are quite positive, supported by strong demand.
While taking profits on some issues, retail investors continued to look for bargains among domestic economy-sensitive issues as they remain optimistic about the market's outlook.
Yet, whether doing this will change investors' appetite will depend on what kind of steps will actually be taken by the group, and whether and how the earnings will be raised.
Expectations over Japan's economic expansion next year are quite high. The feeling stocks will end the year on a positive note is spreading.
Expectations over Japan's economic expansion next year are quite high. Market sentiment changed completely in the second half, triggered by Koizumi's re-election.
Expectations over Japan's economic expansion next year are quite high.
Expectations of an upbeat land price survey, due on Thursday, continued to support the market, while many appear to be relieved now that interest rates here won't spike up in the foreseeable future.
We cannot see any upper limit for commodity prices given the tight supply. There is still room for commodity stocks to gain.
The revised data emerged slightly above our forecast.
The rises in forecasts for steel makers' first-half profit were as expected and positive. As domestic demand will continue to be strong, there is room for further increases in profit.
The share prices of JFE and Nippon Steel fell after they had risen until Monday. They will not drop so much with the positive forecasts.
Sony and Sanyo are coming up with more aggressive restructuring. But investors are now buying companies that can post strong growth without restructuring,
Technology stocks continue to advance, driven by expectations about their earnings. Better-than-expected results at U.S. technology companies are also prompting investors' speculation.
Now it is certain that the end of the (super-loose) policy is coming at the March meeting (next week).
Active buyers may opt to pocket gains quickly ahead of a string of holidays starting tomorrow. This would cap further gains.
An increasing amount of money is flowing into mutual funds from individuals, driving large-capital stocks higher.
It is totally natural to see this level of drop on profit-taking.
It's not really that overseas investors are negatively reacting to Japanese stocks overall but rather... they are waiting for results, worried about rising oil prices and higher interest rates.
It's good that they moved quickly to close the deal ... The market is closely watching what strategies Seven & I will come up with after making the U.S. unit wholly owned.
The biggest incentive for investors to buy stocks right now is optimism for sustained economic growth. The kind of appetite we're seeing from investors right now won't end easily.
The biggest concerns have been dispelled when investors here learned that foreign investors were net buyers before the opening bell.
Stocks with solid fundamentals are now in focus. Companies with good earnings are buying targets across all sectors.
The U.S. economy, once a concern for investors, is now driving stocks higher.
The joint venture will invigorate the semiconductor market as chip equipment makers find more business opportunities.
The Federal Reserve will concentrate on the decrease in house prices and home equity loans as a strong indicator of the cooling of the U.S. housing bubble. That may limit further increases in rates past 5.25 percent.
The core nationwide CPI emerged largely in line with market consensus forecast, so market's initial reaction appeared to be generally limited. There's no fundamental reason to actively sell shares below the 15,700 mark.
In the current market, high techs are not exactly the target of investors' buying interest. Under these circumstances, it wouldn't help at all to post disappointing earnings.
Investors know that the upside resistance (on the Nikkei) is strong at 16,000 points, so the best strategy is hunting bargains when the market sinks.
Investors expect reports this week will show Japan's recovery from deflation and that's driving domestic demand-related stocks higher. The prospects for the steel industry are quite positive, supported by strong demand.
Investors are more confident about buying domestic demand- related shares after the report. The market took higher prices positively as the market's momentum continues to rise.
Investors were keenly awaiting machinery orders, due out in the afternoon. However, the downside on the main indices was limited as investor hopes for a further rise remained pretty strong. An outcome (on the data) above the market consensus could set the stage for a further boost.
In the mid-term run, an end to the policy is not in itself bad news, as it will bring normalization to monetary policy and signal an end to prolonged deflation.
In the mid-term, an end to the policy is not in itself bad news, as it will bring normalization to monetary policy and signal an end to prolonged deflation.
Higher oil prices and a strengthening yen accelerated selling.
By taking full control of the U.S. unit, the group is trying to speed up its decision making,
The key factor from now on is demand in China. The peak of the company's performance has already been reflected in the share price.
The downward spiral that plagued Sony seems to have ended, the question is how far the rebound will go. If the recovery is real, the shares will continue to rise to 7,000 yen or 8,000 yen.
The downward spiral that plagued Sony seems to have ended.
The fundamentals in Japan are favorable. We can expect shares to rise higher.
The market took a breather ... as investors moved to lock-in profits after the main indices here surged to more-than-five-year highs.
The market still has confidence in economic fundamentals and corporate earnings outlooks, and it isn't questioning those.
The market is now focused on U.S. data such as the manufacturing report. My long-term view is that solid growth will support higher stock prices.
The market is filled with good leads today, including the stronger dollar and upbeat corporate earnings results, following a positive surprise last week in Sony's report.
