Japan market summary for Friday (Nov. 9)
Nikkei 225 Stock Average: -188.15 (-1.2%) to 15,583.42
Nikkei 225 futures Osaka: -190 (-1.2%) to 15,550, Singapore (SGX) -170 (-1.1%) to 15,570, Chicago (CME) *11/8 -180 (-1.0%) to 15,670
TOPIX: -22.59 (-1.5%) to 1,494.35; Advancers 537 x decliners 1,074 (unch. 111), New highs 4 x new lows 253
Nikkei Jasdaq: -8.51 (-0.5%) to 1,787.51
Yen: strengthened 0.1% to 112.60 against the US$ and by the same amount to 165.25 level against the euro late in Tokyo


Notes: This is the first six-session losing streak for the Nikkei since May 2006.

The TOPIX is back below 1,500 again.

MOTHERS dropped 4.5% and HERCULES lost 2.6%.

FOMC Chairman Bernanke’s rather pessimistic outlook for the U.S. and the continued problems stemming from subprime in the financial sector continue to weigh on stocks both in the U.S. and in Japan. Adding fuel to the fire, Mizuho Securities potentially has a 100 billion yen subprime-related loss on its books and the Mizuho-Shinko merger is seen postponed until mid next year.

Some see this as a buying opportunity for financial stocks in both countries and for Japan in general. We are cautious here. There may be a rebound, but any gains will not likely be sustainable in the near-term, as profits will be taken quickly. A strong finish to Q4 seems unlikely at this point, but we still have about a month and a half to go.