JAPAN: Japan stock market resumes trading; former Livedoor employee commits suicide amid stock scandal.

Record ID: 468101

  • Title: JAPAN: Japan stock market resumes trading; former Livedoor employee commits suicide amid stock scandal.
  • Date: 19th January 2006
  • Summary: VARIOUS OF TRADERS/ BROKERS
  • Embargoed: 3rd February 2006 12:00
  • Keywords:
  • Location: Japan
  • Country: Japan
  • Topics: Crime / Law Enforcement,Finance
  • Reuters ID: LVA36ZNZVPYH0AUCLGHOP38DPX11
  • Story Text: A day after panic selling jolted the Tokyo Stock Exchange and led to its early close, the Tokyo bourse appeared to be back to normal Thursday (January 19) with the Nikkei share average rising 2.3 percent.
    The Nikkei ended up 355.10 points at 15,696.28, its biggest one-day percentage gain in three months, rebounding from the stampede selling on the previous day sparked by an an investigation into Web portal Livedoor.
    Still, the start of the afternoon trading session was delayed for 30 minutes as a way to avoid overloading the stock exchange's computer system.
    The government sought to soothe anxious investors and reassure the public Japan's fragile economic recovery was still on track
    "We'll continue to watch share prices closely and carefully," Chief Cabinet Secretary Shinzo Abe told reporters.
    "My view is that share prices should always reflect the real strength of the Japanese economy, no matter what happens, and that market stability is very important."
    Despite the recovery on Thursday, however, analysts said they were wary over the performance of the market which has been on a bull run in recent weeks, gaining over 40 percent last year partly boosted by Internet-related stocks.
    "In some of the Internet businesses, it's somewhat difficult to know wheather they really are a new business model or whether they're just a bubble and what's really behind them. And I think the jury is still out," said Robert Dujarric, research fellow at the Japan Institute of International Affairs.
    Meanwhile, the apparent suicide of a former Livedoor key player is sending more shockwaves around Japan. Hideki Noguchi was found dead Thursday morning in an Okinawa hotel room. Noguchi worked for Livedoor until 2002 and helped the Internet company go public. Authorities had been questioning Noguchi about his possible involvement in Livedoor's alleged stock scam. Since leaving Livedoor, Noguchi had been working as vice president of Tokyo securities firm H.I. Securities.
    "(Mr. Noguchi's death) came in the midst of our effort to cooperate with prosecutors' investigation into Livedoor, which started on January 16. I personally feel very sorry for him and deeply regret his death" H.I. Securities President Hideo Sawada said during a tearful press conference.
    Meanwhile, the dollar shuffled in a tight range against the yen on Thursday as dealers tried to fathom the effect on currencies from huge swings in the Japanese stock market.
    By 0555 GMT, the dollar was fetching 115.25 yen, unchanged from late U.S. levels and off a high of 115.90 yen hit on Wednesday in the aftermath of the plunge in Tokyo stocks.
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