Finally, a Nikkei bottom?

After four days of massive hemorrhaging (over 2,100 points lost), the Nikkei 225 bounced back in an afternoon session rally that gained momentum into the close. The N225 gained 6.4% (459 points) to close at 7,621. In early trading it wasn’t clear a positive close would happen — the N225 fell through 7,000 at one point to 6,884.90 (a 26-year low). The broader Topix-1 rose 5% to 784, hurt by heavier exposure to banks, non-bank financials and real estate. Nevertheless, the rally had breadth, as 79% of 1st section issues posted gains and 29 of 33 sectors were positive. A weaker yen was also a big help in at least temporarily relieving concerns of recent yen strength although its last trade against the dollar at 95 is still problematic for the “exporters.”