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Japan Net stock losses may signal end of era
Tokyo, Mar 13: A tumble in Japanese Internet stocks, notably former market favourite Hikari Tsushin Inc that has lost 60 per cent in a month, may signal the beginning of the end of an era of dot.com mania, analysts said. What started a month ago as selling of tech stocks to lock in huge gains ahead of the fiscal year-end has snowballed as sharp declines triggered margin calls.Hikari Tsushin, active Internet investor and mobile phone subscription agent, ended the Monday session at only 88,500 yen, down 60 per cent in the past month. Softbank Corp, another key Internet issue, finished at 94,200 yen, down 48 per cent since February 18.Analysts see more than just technical factors behind the recent downtrend in net stocks. "Japan is now getting out of phase one and into phase two, trailing about a year behind the US," said Darrel Whitten, a strategist at ABN AMRO Securities. US net stocks went through a substantial correction last April, and after the turning point, e-commerce ventures focusing on B2Btransactions and telecom infrastructure firms emerged as winners. Likewise in Japan, investors will now become more selective in investing in net stocks, paying more attention to their bottom lines and business models, he said. Toshiaki Iba, an analyst at Tokyo Mitsubishi Securities, concurs, "The days of good Net and bad Net stocks moving in a pack are over." Hikari Tsushin woes continue: Analysts are divided in their views over how far Hikari's shares will fall. The company has been hit especially hard among Internet stocks due to various specific factors. Whitten said support is expected at around 51,500 yen. However, Iba said if the market recognises Hikari as one of the losers in the second phase of Net stock valuation, its shares could plummet towards 3,000 to 4,000 yen. Copyright © 2000 Indian Express Newspapers (Bombay) Ltd.
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