Tokyo pharma stock market - week to April 23

Tokyo equities opened lower with sagging technology stocks and foreigninvestors being absent due to the Easter break in the week to April 23, but strengthened in mid-week, supported by firmed-up New York markets. The Nikkei 225 advanced 3.5% and the Topix index also went up 2.9%. The surprise emergency 0.5% cut in US interest rates and the consequent rise in New York markets significantly improved the Tokyo market's sentiment.

Also, tax incentives for stock investments, as proposed by the coalition's tax panel in response to the government's emergency economic package released in early April, encouraged the market. The panel proposes the introduction of a tax break for individual stock investors, including exempting taxation imposed on long-term capital gains from share sales, although it decided to postpone tax relief on land transactions and on the stock-purchase organization for absorbing banks' cross-held shares.

However, investors refrained from active participation at the end of the week, being sensitive to earnings reports soon to be released by Japanese high-technology companies and the new Prime Minister fiscal and economic policies to be determined.