off-the-wire

Foreigners continue to accumulate Japanese shares lifted by attractive returns

Kitco Media
By Reuters
Published:
Updated:
Reuters
May 11 (Reuters) - Foreigners continued to buy Japanese stocks for a fifth-consecutive week, encouraged by a weaker yen, as Japan's central bank maintained its dovish stance despite aggressive interest rate hikes from other major central banks.


Foreigners bought a net 460 billion yen ($3.41 billion) worth of Japanese equities in the trading week ended May 2, data from exchanges showed.


They bought 161 billion yen worth of cash equities and poured about 300 billion yen into derivatives. Stellar gains in Japanese shares, thanks to robust earnings and a weaker yen, have lured foreign investors this year, many of whom are facing an economic slowdown in their local markets due to a rise in interest rates.


The Nikkei index has climbed 11.7% this year, outpacing the MSCI World index's 8.45% gain.


Analysts said the Japanese stock market looks more attractive as its economy is coming out of an era of deflation and also due to rising shareholder activism campaigns aimed at boosting investor returns.


Billionaire investor Warren Buffet this month said he is more comfortable with Berkshire Hathaway Inc (BRKa.N) deploying capital in Japan than Taiwan, reflecting the growing tensions between the United States and China.




($1 = 135.0500 yen) <^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^ Weekly foreign flows into the Japanese stocks and futures&nbsp; ^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^> (Reporting By Patturaja Murugaboopathy and Gaurav Dogra in Bengaluru; Editing by Sharon Singleton)

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