Nikkei Tops 16,000 as Yen Maintains Strength at 116 (TMIC, NMR, PIO, TDK, SANYY, KUB, ATE)

The Nikkei 225 Stock Average closed above 16,000 for the first time since early October 2000. This year's rally looks like it will have no problem finishing the last few trading days of the year strong and above 16,000 as I have forecasted. Investors new to Japan looking to get in should be patient and watch for sell-offs (profit-taking) and try building up a position using an ETF such as the heavily traded iShares Japan MSCI Index (EWJ). The mood was upbeat in Tokyo today on news of M&A activity between Seven & I Holdings announcement to acquire Millennium Retailing Inc.

Nikkei 225: +166.30 (+1.04%) closed at 16,107.67, opened 85+ points higher than Thursday's close of 15,941.37, traded as high as 16,108.94, low was 16,026.18

TOPIX: +11.05 (+0.67%) closed at 1,648.94, opened 7+ points higher than Thursday's close of 1,637.89, traded as high as 1,651.98, low was 1,644.99

JASDAQ: +2.75 (+2.25%) closed at 125.13, traded between 123.04 and 125.20

Yen: Y116.22/US$1

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

* Advancers: Trend Micro (TMIC) +4.43%, Nomura Holdings (NMR) +2.97%, Pioneer (PIO) +2.76%

* Decliners: TDK (TDK) -7.59%, Sanyo Electric (SANYY) -3.56%, Kubota (KUB) -2.19%, Advantest (ATE) -1.75%