Nikkei to climb to 14,000 as deflation ends

STOCK MARKET OUTLOOK: To Climb To 14,000 As Deflation Ends
2005/08/23, The Nikkei Financial Daily, page 0, 277 words

TOKYO (Nikkei)--As the market reacts positively to signs of an end to deflation, the Nikkei Stock Average is likely to test the 14,000 level by the end of the year, says Toshio Shingin of Daiwa Securities SMBC Co.The government and the Bank of Japan have effectively declared that the economy has pulled out of its soft patch, while retail sales and other indicators show signs of strength, Shingin notes. The unwinding of cross-shareholdings by companies and stock sales as part of efforts to return a portion of their pension assets to the government have finally been completed, he maintains. As a result, he sees foreign and individual investors gradually adopting a buying stance. The stock prices of so-called "bubble industries," such as banks and construction companies, are rebounding as they benefit from a recovery in real estate prices, he says. As they monitor these developments, foreign hedge funds are expected to start increasing their flows of funds into Japanese markets, he adds.In Shingin's view, the start in October of over-the-counter sales of investment trusts at post offices is another important factor swaying the market. Sales of public investment trusts at banks have already reached 16 trillion yen, he argues. Because a portion of postal savings funds is expected to shift to mutual funds, the investment trust balance may balloon, significantly affecting future supply-demand conditions.While Shingin believes that the spiraling crude oil prices cannot be ignored, some analysts speculate that gross domestic product growth can be maintained even if crude oil prices double. The impact of high crude oil prices on stocks is likely to be limited, he predicts.(The Nikkei Financial Daily Tuesday edition)

ANALYST OUTLOOK: Ending deflation supports
2005/08/29, THE NIKKEI WEEKLY, page 7, 167 words

Toshio Shingin Sub councilor of equity planning and administration department a
As the market reacts positively to signs of an ending deflation, the Nikkei average is likely to test 14,000 by the end of the year.
The government and the BOJ have declared that the economy has pulled out of its soft patch, while retail sales and other indicators show signs of strength. The unwinding of cross-shareholdings and stock sales related to returned pension management to the government by funds have been completed. As a result, foreign and individual investors are gradually adopting a buying stance.
The stock prices of banks and construction companies are rebounding as they benefit from a recovery in real estate prices. In reaction, foreign hedge funds are expected to start increasing their flows of funds into Japanese markets.
The start in October of over-the-counter sales of investment trusts at post offices is another positive factor for shares, because a part of postal savings funds is expected to shift to the stock market.