Nikkei touches five-week high as bank shares gain

Japan's Nikkei average touched a a five-week high above 8,000 on Wednesday as Mizuho Financial Group and other banks gained on moves by the Bank of Japan to bolster banks' capital. But the benchmark average was flat by midday as investors took the rise to 8,000 as a chance to lock in their profits on recent gainers such as Fast Retailing Co, operator of the Uniqlo casual clothing chain. Sharp Corp and other solar cell makers rallied after the government said it aimed to lift the country's global share in solar cell production to over one-third from the current 25 percent by 2020. "There have been signs of the market overheating after the Nikkei rose quite a bit," said Hajime Nakajima, deputy general manager of the sales trading department at Cosmo Securities. After rising above 8,000 for the first time since Feb. 10, the Nikkei drifted back down. At the midday break it was up just 1.41 points at 7,950.54. The average has climbed more than 750 points, or over 10 percent, in the last four days. The broader Topix climbed 0.5 percent to 764.46. Tokyo stocks gained right from the open after U.S. stocks surged following an unexpected leap in U.S. housing starts figures.
Source: ET