biz.yahoo.com
<...To put it in perspective, that same month, the U.S. Dow Jones industrial average stood at around the 1,200 mark. On Thursday it ended at 9,919.58. Some traders say the Nikkei and Dow may soon cross paths.
On Friday, the Nikkei share average of 225 liquid issues shed 2.06 percent to 10,713.51, having lost more than 70 percent since the peak of Japan's asset bubble era in December 1989.
SENSITIVE TO TECH STOCKS
To be fair, a major reshuffling of components in April 2000 made the Nikkei more sensitive to price movements of expensive technology stocks and less effective in reflecting the overall market trend.
But the market's broader TOPIX index is also wavering. A capital-weighted index of all first-section issues, the preferred yardstick of institutional investors is down 14 percent since the start of the year and hovering at March 1999 levels.
``While 10,000 is psychologically huge for market sentiment, it means nothing to me from a technical point of view. I'm focusing to see if the TOPIX will hold 980,'' said Toshi Saito, general manager at Priore Asset Management.
The TOPIX hit a post-bubble closing low of 980.11 in October 1998 when the country was in the throes of a financial crisis. It ended Friday at 1,103.67, still 11 percent above that nadir.>
Never a dull moment!
Mq |
