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Technology Stocks : Softbank Group Corp -- Ignore unavailable to you. Want to Upgrade?

To: Edwin S. Fujinaka who wrote (4320)	3/9/2000 3:16:00 AM
From: Edwin S. Fujinaka	Read Replies (1) \| Respond to of 6020

A little more optimistic view from Nikkei Net Wednesday, March 8, 2000 Stock Market Outlook: IT Issues To Bounce Back TOKYO (Nikkei)--The sharp drop in information technology shares is clearly the outstanding feature of the recent stock market, but it is merely a temporary correction as Japanese institutional investors lock in profitable positions ahead of fiscal year-end, says Akira Hiramine, chief investment officer at Invesco Asset Management (Japan) Ltd. Internet-related shares should remain on top in the longer term, he says. Invesco has built up positions in Softbank Corp. (9984), Hikari Tsushin Inc. (9435), Sony Corp. (6758) and other high-tech shares, and has not sold them, he adds. The stock market has historically placed the highest value on companies that are the most vital to society. In today's society, the Internet has become indispensable because it makes our lives simpler and more convenient, he notes. The Internet industry's range of activity is vast, and the growth prospects for related companies are strong, he says. The range of firms investors are willing to buy as "Internet-related" may be set to expand, Hiramine says, as more and more top managers put their companies through the structural reforms the information society demands in the business sphere. Hiramine maintains that this year will see investors buy a broad range of issues rather than a handful of hot stocks. Foreign investors' appetite for Japanese stocks still appears strong in supply-demand terms, he adds. He predicts that the Nikkei Stock Average will rise to nearly 23,000 by the end of March 2001, he predicts. If there is a risk in this scenario, it would be an easing of the pace of government deregulation, he says. January's one-year postponement of the cap on deposit insurance, along with its negative impact on banking stocks, are still fresh in memory. If politicians continue to take a negative view of deregulation and focus only on the pain caused by corporate restructuring, this will have an adverse effect on the stock market, Hiramine warns. (The Nikkei Financial Daily Wednesday edition)