Stock Market

A corporate governance makeover has helped fuel the revival of Japan’s once-moribund stock market. Now investors want to see if the change is for real. The Nikkei index shattered its all-time high last week, topping a level not seen since the December 1989 asset bubble – and continues to gain ground. 

The best performers of the session on the S&P/ASX 200 were Reece Ltd (ASX:REH), which rose 19.22% or 4.63 points to trade at 28.72 at the close. Meanwhile, Appen Ltd (ASX:APX) added 13.10% or 0.06 points to end at 0.47 and G8 Education Ltd (ASX:GEM) was up 12.05% or 0.14 points to 1.26 in late trade.

European stock markets slipped lower Monday, starting a new week on a cautious note as investors awaited the release of a series of keenly-awaited inflation cues.  At 03:05 ET (08:05 GMT), the DAX index in Germany traded 0.1% lower, the CAC 40 in France traded down 0.2% and the FTSE 100 in the U.K. dropped 0.1%

The worst performers of the session were Nexon Co Ltd (TYO:3659), which fell 3.49% or 88.00 points to trade at 2,432.50 at the close. Dainippon Screen Mfg. Co., Ltd. (TYO:7735) declined 3.47% or 690.00 points to end at 19,205.00 and Asahi Group Holdings, Ltd. (TYO:2502) was down 2.69% or 147.00 points to 5,311.00.

The index is up almost 17% this year after surging 28% in 2023, when it was the best performing Asian major bourse. The tech-heavy Nasdaq, by comparison, soared 43% last year and is up 6% so far in 2024.

The best performers of the session on the S&P/ASX 200 were Insignia Financial Ltd (ASX:IFL), which rose 13.72% or 0.31 points to trade at 2.57 at the close. Meanwhile, Bega Cheese Ltd (ASX:BGA) added 13.52% or 0.48 points to end at 4.03 and Fletcher Building Ltd (ASX:FBU) was up 9.01% or 0.30 points to 3.63 in late trade.

China’s Lenovo Group (OTC:LNVGY), the world’s largest maker of personal computers, on Thursday reported October-December revenue of $15.72 billion, up 3% from the same period a year earlier.

The best performers of the session on the S&P/ASX 200 were CSR Ltd (ASX:CSR), which rose 17.43% or 1.18 points to trade at 7.95 at the close. Meanwhile, Codan Ltd (ASX:CDA) added 15.71% or 1.32 points to end at 9.72 and Wisetech Global Ltd (ASX:WTC) was up 10.82% or 8.64 points to 88.49 in late trade.

The best performers of the session on the S&P/ASX 200 were Appen Ltd (ASX:APX), which rose 15.71% or 0.06 points to trade at 0.41 at the close. Meanwhile, Nuix Ltd (ASX:NXL) added 13.08% or 0.22 points to end at 1.95 and ARB Corporation Ltd (ASX:ARB) was up 9.87% or 3.53 points to 39.30 in late trade.

The best performers of the session on the Nikkei 225 were Mitsui Engineering & Shipbuilding (TYO:7003), which rose 12.21% or 135.00 points to trade at 1,241.00 at the close. Meanwhile, Aozora Bank, Ltd. (TYO:8304) added 5.64% or 114.00 points to end at 2,136.00 and Obayashi Corp. (TYO:1802) was up 5.49% or 75.00 points to 1,440.50 in late trade.