Futures Prices Boost Stocks
May 01, 2011
The Nikkei average of 225 selected issues added 272.41 to 21106.41. Volume on the First Section of the Tokyo Stock Exchange was estimated at 260 million shares, up from its low for the year of 214.6 million shares Friday. Advancers outnumbered decliners 725 to 283, with 187 shares unchanged. Traders said the market opened higher as investors were encouraged by Friday's advance on Wall Street, where the Dow Jones Industrial Average rose 23.67 to 5689.65. A further drop in short-term Japanese interest rates Monday provided an additional boost to the futures market. Despite the sharp advance, volume remained sluggish with many investors away until the middle of the week for the Buddhist ``obon'' holidays. Many investors also remained sidelined ahead of the U.S. Federal Reserve Open Market Committee meeting on Tuesday, even though the market expects the Fed to keep rates unchanged, analysts said. TYK, a speculative issue and the day's most actively traded stock, jumped 80 yen to 1,380 yen on volume of 12.6 million shares. Traders said the rise in the futures market may have been fueled by news that the yield of the lead December contract for three-month Euro-yen interest rates futures fell to a record low 0.82% Monday, reducing fears that the Bank of Japan would move to raise rates in the near term. Shares of brokerage houses advanced as the market rose. Nomura climbed 60 yen to 2,040 yen on 2.9 million shares traded, and Daiwa gained 30 yen to 1,320 yen on 2.5 million shares. Traders said foreign investors were taking advantage of bargains after the sector's recent tumble. The brokerage sector rose 2.9%, the biggest gaining sector of the day. Major telecommunications issues weakened after leading the market higher last week. NTT slid 6,000 yen to 812,000 yen on volume of 4,393 shares, and DDI gave back 5,000 yen to 925,000 yen on just 2,360 shares traded. However, some telecommunications-related issues continued to push ahead. Matsushita Communication Industrial added 40 yen to 3,080 yen on volume of 1.6 million shares exchanged, while NEC System Integration & Construction gained 20 yen to 2,830 yen on 147,800 shares traded. Traders said international blue-chip shares such as Toyota benefited from the arbitrage-related purchases. The leading car maker gained 30 yen to 2,640 on volume of 2.4 million shares. Mitsui Matsushima, another speculative issue and the second most actively-traded issue Monday, rose 16 yen to 690 yen on volume of 12.1 million shares. The Nikkei Stock Average 300, a weighted average of shares on the First Section of the Tokyo Stock Exchange, rose 1.27 to 295.77. The Tokyo Stock Price Average of all issues listed on the First Section added 6.93 to 1591.77. The Second Section average gained 7.64 to 2116.97. Volume on the Second Section was estimated at six million shares, down from 7.1 million shares Friday.
VastPress 2011 Vastopolis
