In the current market, high techs are not exactly the target of investors’ buying interest. Under these circumstances, it wouldn’t help at all to post disappointing earnings.

Yet, whether doing this will change investors’ appetite will depend on what kind of steps will actually be taken by the group, and whether and how the earnings will be raised.

The rises in forecasts for steel makers’ first-half profit were as expected and positive. As domestic demand will continue to be strong, there is room for further increases in profit.

The prospects for the steel industry are quite positive, supported by strong demand.

The revised data emerged slightly above our forecast.

Sony and Sanyo are coming up with more aggressive restructuring. But investors are now buying companies that can post strong growth without restructuring.

We cannot see any upper limit for commodity prices given the tight supply. There is still room for commodity stocks to gain.

But strong buying interest appeared to beat profit-taking in the end.

The biggest concerns have been dispelled when investors here learned that foreign investors were net buyers before the opening bell.

The core nationwide CPI emerged largely in line with market consensus forecast, so market’s initial reaction appeared to be generally limited. There’s no fundamental reason to actively sell shares below the 15,700 mark.

The fundamentals in Japan are favorable. We can expect shares to rise higher.

Now it is certain that the end of the (super-loose) policy is coming at the March meeting (next week).

Some investors focused on domestic demand-led sectors, while high-tech firms appeared to be weaker due to lingering worries over the firmer yen.

Investors know that the upside resistance (on the Nikkei) is strong at 16,000 points, so the best strategy is hunting bargains when the market sinks.

The market took a breather … as investors moved to lock-in profits after the main indices here surged to more-than-five-year highs.

Investors were keenly awaiting machinery orders, due out in the afternoon. However, the downside on the main indices was limited as investor hopes for a further rise remained pretty strong. An outcome (on the data)...

It’s not really that overseas investors are negatively reacting to Japanese stocks overall but rather… they are waiting for results, worried about rising oil prices and higher interest rates.

Investors are more confident about buying domestic demand- related shares after the report. The market took higher prices positively as the market’s momentum continues to rise.

The downward spiral that plagued Sony seems to have ended.

The joint venture will invigorate the semiconductor market as chip equipment makers find more business opportunities. More interest rate increases by the Fed than anticipated will reduce consumer spending in the U.S. and some investors...