Late Afternoon Surge Leads to Positive Close for Nikkei 225, ADRs to Watch (KYO, NTT, NSANY)

Trading was volatile in the morning session and it looked as if profit taking after yesterday's huge day was going to be the theme. Trading was below yesterday's close throughout the afternoon until a late surge in which a gain of 40 points (0.26%) was squeezed out. Steel, transport, and railway stocks led the day. Exporter stocks once again had a decent day overall but were not among the leading advancing stocks. Tomorrow the government's quarterly survey of business confidence will be released.

Nikkei 225: +40.16 (+0.26%) closed at 15,778.86, opened about 15 1/2 points higher than prior close of 15,738.70, traded as high as 15,782.30, and as low as 15,666.09

TOPIX: +8.63 (+0.53%) closed at 1,626.15, opened about 3 1/2 points higher than prior close of 1,617.52, intra-day high at closing, low was 1,614.72

JASDAQ: +0.40 (+0.34%) closed at 117.08, traded between 116.55 and 117.08

Yen: last posted rate Y120.3/US$1

Today’s ADRs to watch based on earlier trading of underlying shares in Tokyo:

* Advancers: Kyocera (KYO) +2.27%, NTT (NTT) +2.06%, Nissan Motor (NSANY) +1.59%, Toyota ( TM) +1.37%, Kubota (KUB) +1.05%

* Decliners: Pioneer (PIO) -2.01%, Trend Micro (TMIC) -1.24%