International investors fuel further growth in Japanese stock market

FOREIGN investors bolstered their positions in the rising Japanese stock market drawn by a depreciating yen that boosted exporter shares and a robust performance in the chip sector.

According to exchange data, foreigners pumped in a net 395.84 billion yen (S$3.6 billion) into Japanese stocks during the week to Jan 19 after a massive 1.45 trillion yen worth of net purchases in the previous week.

They accumulated about 384.13 billion yen of cash equities and about 11.71 billion yen of derivatives on a net basis.

The Nikkei index rose to a 34-year high of 36,984.51 on Tuesday, capping a period of growth, which included a 1.1 per cent increase last week and a 6.6 per cent surge the previous week.

In the chip sector, Advantest shares jumped 14.5 per cent last week, with Tokyo Electron posting a 7.5 per cent gain. The AI-focused startup investor, SoftBank Group, rose 1.8 per cent.

Foreign investors purchased about 348.6 billion yen in long-term Japanese bonds, extending a buying trend for a second consecutive week, according to Japan’s finance ministry.

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Overseas investors also accumulated around 1.27 trillion yen in short-term debt, reversing net selling from the previous week.

Japanese investors, however, sold a net 250.1 billion of overseas bonds, their first weekly net selling in three weeks. They exited a net 48 billion yen of long-term and 202.1 billion yen of short-term debt securities.

However, they increased their foreign equity holdings by approximately 130.4 billion yen, extending net purchases to a fourth consecutive week. REUTERS