Nintendo soars on Pokemon game
Company’s performance helps propel broader Nikkei stock index almost one per cent higher
Japanese gaming giant Nintendo soared again yesterday, taking a weeklong rally to 75 per cent as investors ride the coattails of the Pokemon Go phenomenon sweeping the planet.
The scorching performance helped propel the broader Nikkei stock index almost one per cent higher to break above the levels seen on June 23 before Britain’s shock EU exit vote sent financial markets into turmoil.
Nintendo climbed 15.89 per cent to 25,300 yen (Dh880, $240) yesterday, compared with the 14,380 yen close last Wednesday as the new smartphone game launched.
Investors are betting its surprise popularity is a good sign for the console maker’s nascent push into mobile gaming. “The expectation is that Pokemon Go’s success will contribute to the success of Nintendo’s other original games, and even to the success of its next game console,” SMBC Nikko Securities analyst Eiji Maeda said.
But “the share price reaching its upside limit”.
The surge helped the broader markets rack up a fourth day of gains, with investors keenly awaiting details of a flagged government spending package aimed at boosting growth in the world’s thirdlargest economy.
Speculation is rife Tokyo could unleash stimulus worth around 10 trillion yen after Prime Minister Shinzo Abe ordered a minister to prepare fiscal measures.
Investors are also eyeing a July 28-29 Bank of Japan meeting, which could see policymakers further ease monetary policy.
By the close, the Nikkei 225 was up 0.95 per cent, or 154.46 points, at 16,385.89 — putting it for the first time above the June 23 close of 16,238.35 before being hit by the Brexit shock.
The broader Topix index of all first-section shares tacked on 0.84 per cent, or 10.90 points, to 1,311.16. is