SocGen buyback gauge beats JPX-Nikkei 400

Tokyo

THE JPX-Nikkei Index 400 has spawned a better performing counterpart as brokerages seek to profit from a government-led push to make Japanese companies stop hoarding money.

A stock gauge designed by Societe Generale SA comprising businesses that plan to buy back shares, a strategy to boost shareholder returns while reducing cash balances, is beating its better known peer. The Solactive Japanese Buyback Index, tracking 15 to 25 companies, surged 12 per cent this year through Monday against a 0.1 per cent gain for the JPX-Nikkei 400.