TOKYO: Foreign investors continued their massive purchases of Japanese stocks last week amid growing expectations that Liberal Democratic Party leader Sanae Takaichi will become the country’s next prime minister.
Investors pumped a net 1.89 trillion yen into Japanese equities during the week ending October 11, following a record 2.48 trillion yen net purchase the previous week.
Takaichi appeared certain to become Japan’s first female prime minister after winning the ruling party leadership race until the LDP’s junior coalition partner Komeito ended their 26-year partnership last Friday.
Her prospects improved significantly this week with the Japan Innovation Party emerging as a potential new coalition partner.
Both the Nikkei 225 and Topix indices have declined approximately 0.8% this week after posting strong gains of 5.07% and 2.19% respectively last week.
Foreign investors also purchased a net 199.4 billion yen in long-term Japanese bonds for their second consecutive week of net buying.
They acquired 1.52 trillion yen in short-term bills representing their largest weekly net purchase since July 19.
Japanese investors meanwhile bought 59.3 billion yen in foreign stocks ending three consecutive weeks of selling.
They also purchased 596.4 billion yen in long-term foreign bonds and 77.6 billion yen in short-term bills. – Reuters
