TOKYO: Japanese stocks rose as a strong start for the nation’s biggest initial public offering since 1998 showed the depth of investor demand for equities.
Japan Post Holdings Co. surged 17 percent from its IPO price, while the insurance unit soared 48 percent and the banking unit climbed 15 percent. Nissan Motor Co. jumped 3.8 percent after increasing its full-year profit forecast. Takata Corp. sank 19 percent after Honda Motor Co. said it will stop using the company’s air bags in new models because of evidence the supplier manipulated test data.
The Japan Post moves are “a fairly big surprise,” said Seiichiro Iwamoto, a senior fund manager at Mizuho Asset Management Co. in Tokyo. While he expected shares to rally because they were sold cheaply, they’ve gained more than expected, he said. “As individual investors cash in and take profits on their initial allocations, hopefully we’ll see that money flow back in to the market and lead to a good cycle.”
The Topix index climbed 1.8 percent to 1,555.07 as of 12:41 p.m. in Tokyo following a holiday on Tuesday. The Nikkei 225 Stock Average added 2.4 percent to 19,133.95, headed for the highest close in more than two months. Adding to the positive market sentiment, Japan Post Bank Co.’s president said his company, which owns more assets than any other bank in nation, could increase equity investments to 2 trillion yen ($16.5 billion) from about 900 million yen.
