Japan Stocks Up, PM Suga Aims to End Vaccination by November

On Thursday close, June 10, Japan stocks climbed higher as Prime Minister Yoshihide Suga announced that he plans to accelerate and finish COVID vaccination by November. The sectors led the gains under Paper & Pulp, Railway & Bus, and Real Estate. At the session’s close, Tokyo’s Nikkei 225 smashed 0.34%.

The benchmark’s best performers were Nippon Yusen K.K. It rose to a 5-year high, progressing 3.65% or 180.0 points at 5110.0.

Sumitomo Dainippon Pharma Co Ltd followed this, which rallied to a 52-week high and jumped 3.49% or 79.0 points at 2340.0.

Also, Shionogi & Co Ltd advanced 3.40% or 192.0 points at 5839.0

Meanwhile, the worst performers were Eisai Co Ltd which plummeted 7.02% or 755.0 points at 10000.0.

This was followed by NH Foods Ltd, which sank 3.54% or 160.0 points at 4365.0.

Also, Citizen Holdings Co Ltd decreased 2.44% or 11.0 points at 440.0.

These falling stocks outnumbered those advancing on the Tokyo Stock Exchange by 1751 to 1699 and 291, which finished untouched.

The Nikkei Volatility, which gauges the implied volatility of Nikkei 225 options stayed at 19.73.

On Wednesday, PM Suga said that over 40 million shots of the coronavirus vaccine would be administered by the end of June.

The rollout initially focused on health workers and senior citizens, who are the most vulnerable to severe symptoms. However, this should expand this month to patients with underlying conditions and those who have access to vaccination sites at workplace or university campuses.

Asia Pacific Stocks

On Friday, June 11, a broad gauge of Asia Pacific shares surged.

In China, the Shanghai Composite and Shenzhen Component both fell 0.53% and 0.59%, respectively.

Last May, wide credit growth in the country continued as its central bank seeks to contain the rising debt in the world’s second-largest economy.

On the other hand, South Korea’s KOSPI jumped 0.32% OR 10.35 points to 3,234.99.

Among the heavyweights were SK Hynix and LG Chem, who soared 2.44% and 2.11%.

Meanwhile, the tech giant Samsung Electronics and the search engine Naver were down by 0.37% and 0.40%. 

Elsewhere in Australia, the benchmark S&P/ASX 200 advanced 0.14%, while Hong Kong’s Hang Seng index also tweaked 0.53%

Lastly, the MSCI’s broadest index of Asia Pacific shares outside Japan boosted 0.18%.