Nikkei slips from 1-wk high, still on track for best year since 1972

Business & Markets 2013
Written by Reuters
Tuesday, 10 December 2013 14:19
A + A - Reset
TOKYO (Dec 10): Japan's Nikkei stock average pulled back from a one-week
high on Tuesday as investors booked gains before the year-end, with the
benchmark heading for its best annual rise in over four decades.
The Nikkei ended 0.3 percent lower at 15,611.31 after rallying 2.3 percent on
Monday, its best one-day gain in three months, spurred by a slide in the yen
after an upbeat U.S. jobs report raised expectations the Federal Reserve will
soon begin removing its stimulus.
The broader Topix index closed up 0.1 percent at 1,256.33, with 2.14 billion
shares changing hands, slightly ahead of Monday's 2.11 billion shares.
Driven by Tokyo's aggressive fiscal and monetary stimulus, the benchmark
Nikkei is up 50 percent in local currency terms this year, the best among major
developed markets.
If the gains were to hold for the rest of the year, it would mark the Nikkei's biggest yearly rise since 1972.
Social gaming firm DeNA Co Ltd, the most-traded stock on the main board, surged 14 percent and Gree Inc jumped 15.2 percent.
They were among the most shorted stocks in Japan and were squeezed higher, driven by a rally in peer Mixi Inc after its recently launched
"Monster Strike" mobile game gained popularity. - Reuters