Japan market summary for Monday (Oct. 29)
Nikkei 225 Stock Average: +192.45 (+1.2%) to 16,698.08
Nikkei 225 futures Osaka: +240 (+1.5%) to 16,730, Singapore (SGX) +235 (+1.4%) to 16,725, Chicago (CME) 10/26 +270 (+1.65%) to 16,665
TOPIX: +32.52 (+2.1%) to 1,606.49; Advancers 1,242 x decliners 402 (unch. 79), New highs 11 x new lows 61
Nikkei Jasdaq: +14.40 (+0.8%) to 1,865.52
Yen: weakened 0.1% against the US$ to the 114.15 level late in Tokyo; weakened 0.3% against the euro to the 164.70 level


Notes: Emerging stock indices MOTHERS and HERCULES continued their upward momentum, rising 3.7% and 1.6%, respectively. The recent sustained strength among the micro-caps has been rather impressive and long overdue.

Nissan (JP: 7201) (ADR: NSANY) jumped 14.2% to Y1,283 on its positive earnings report late following Friday’s market close. We’ve liked Nissan over the past year. It’s tough to be patient, let alone in the particularly volatile markets of ‘07, but Nissan and the other Big-3 are at rather attractive levels. The key is growth in markets ex-Japan and ex-USA. Nissan has the “turnaround” (positive earning surprise) factor supporting it and somewhat easier comparisons.

On the opposite end, semiconductor test equipment maker Advantest (JP: 6857) (ADR: ATE) fell 6.7% to Y3,230, sinking to about a 3-year low.

Meanwhile, Honda (JP: 7267) (ADR: HMC) and Sony (JP: 6758) (ADR: SNE) continued to trade higher following their earnings releases last week, adding 3% to Y4,160 and 2.9% to Y5,720, respectively. Nintendo recouped the Y70,000 level, gaining 4.6% to Y70,800. Konami (JP: 9766) (ADR: KNM) climbed 5% to Y3,390 and NTT DoCoMo (JP: 9437) (ADR: DCM) jumped 5.8% to Y163,000 (despite lowering its FY guidance).

Mitsubishi UFJ (JP: 8306) (ADR: MTU) rallied 4.7% to Y1,091, Mizuho FG (JP: 8411) (ADR: MFG) climbed 5.6% to Y639,000 and Nomura (JP: 8604) (ADR: NMR) gained 4.8% to Y2,000, leading financial stocks and broader indices higher.