Wall Street closes at a record for the first time since end of January
(Reuters) -Japanese investors snapped up foreign stocks for an eighth straight week, as progress in U.S. trade negotiations and easing concerns over the global economic impact of a trade war lifted investor sentiment.
Japanese investors bought a net 250.8 billion yen ($1.72 billion) worth of foreign stocks during the week ended May 10, although it was sharply lower compared to about 2.55 trillion yen worth of net accumulations in the prior week, data from Japan’s Ministry of Finance showed.
Including the week’s purchases, Japanese investors have now acquired a net 8.2 trillion yen in foreign equities so far this year, the largest total for the same period since at least 2005.
Investor concerns over the impact of elevated U.S. tariffs on global economic growth eased significantly in May, buoyed by ongoing trade negotiations, the announcement of a U.S.-UK trade agreement, and a 90-day U.S.-China tariff truce. The U.S. has reduced its combined tariffs on most Chinese imports from 145% to 30%, while China has agreed to cut duties from 125% to 10%.
The MSCI World Index has surged about 20.88% since hitting nearly a 15-month low of 722.57 on April 7. The World Index is just 1.6% below its record high of 887.58.
Japanese investors also funnelled a net 1.92 trillion yen into long-term overseas bonds in the week ended May 10, reversing net sales of 514.2 billion yen the week prior.
Meanwhile, Japan’s equity markets attracted around 439 billion yen in foreign capital, with cross-border investors extending net purchases to a sixth straight week.
Foreign investors net sold 141.1 billion yen in long-term Japanese government bonds, marking their second straight week of net selling, but picked up 973.9 billion yen in short-term Japanese bills.
($1 = 146.0100 yen)