People were somewhat focused on the trade surplus numbers. Japan is ultimately an exporting country and those exports are getting more expensive.
People want to be optimistic, especially dealers who control a lot of stock.
Our scenario in 1999 is that 10,000 on the Nikkei is a given - 8,000 is possible. We think that if the market goes to 8,000 it's good. It's not going to stay there for very long.
We just do not see this economic recovery. Last month was yet another record unemployment level, and land prices continue to fall - and land is the collateral that banks use.
We expect the market to continue to sell off. The economic news continues to be bad.
Things were very quiet. The market was (pushed) up by the joint venture between Fuji Bank and Dai-Ichi Kangyo Bank. That was all it needed.
It was very quiet. There was a lot of confusion over exactly what the government is talking about in terms of whether they are going to start cutting taxes.
People really have to take a step back and look at what happened in Hong Kong and Japan in December. Some of the big names were up as much as 150 percent.
A lot of people are really focused on the currency. Most people are fairly relieved. It has been said that the breakeven for most Japanese exporters is around 110 to 112 yen.
Then in the second quarter the foreign funds start coming in. They look at Japan and think that's doing well and the Japanese start selling straight into it. A regular pattern has been established with the high for the year reached in June or July in the last five out of six years.
It went up 140 points at the close.
If you had asked people earlier last week, they would have said it was a disaster.
I don't think things have improved that dramatically. There is plenty of anecdotal evidence from our analysts, who actually go out and visit the companies, to suggest the economy isn't actually as strong as it should be.
The market would have been down if it had not been for one big buying program towards the end of the day, which most people suspect was the government.
The market moved in a tight range. There was no particular news out here, which highlights that we are going into the Golden Week holiday and some traders are taking profits as a result.
