Tokyo Market Summary: Nikkei Average falls sharply, Bank of Japan's estimated supply-demand gap turned positive, first time in about 4 years

Top news
Supply and demand gap, positive change for the first time in 15 fiscal years Bank of Japan estimates for October-December
On the 3rd, the Bank of Japan announced an estimate that the “supply-demand gap,” which indicates the difference between demand and supply capacity in the Japanese economy, was plus 0.02% for the 2023-10-12 fiscal year. Since the fiscal year ended 20/1/3, which was 0.16% positive, it turned positive for the first time in 15 quarters. The Bank of Japan lifted negative interest rates in March and decided to raise interest rates for the first time in 17 years, and there was finally an improvement in the supply-demand gap.

The most popular anime that can earn money in the world, and the 3 brands that hold the copyright are the strongest business models!? Theme parks and Hollywood movie adaptations too
Animation (anime) has become a culture that Japan is proud of in the world. The hugely popular content can be said to be a “treasure trove” where potential value is increasing. It can be said that companies that hold copyright for popular anime have a business model of “millet with wet hands” (meaning that large sums of money can be obtained without effort), so to speak. Therefore, we will pick up brands that own anime copyrights for popular comics that have ranked high in comic sales in recent years, and can be expected to increase revenue in the future due to copyright utilization.

There is a possibility that the dollar will break through 152 yen 00 yen
Fawad Razakzada, a market analyst at Citi Index and Forex.com, pointed out by email that the technical chart maintains a bullish trend with regard to the dollar/yen exchange rate, and there is a possibility that it will surpass 1 dollar = 152 yen 00 yen.

Notable stocks
A US glass manufacturer funded by SoftBank G files for bankruptcy and presents a debt restructuring plan
$SoftBank Group(9984.JP)$Rice, a glass manufacturer that invests in $ビュー(VIEW.US)$On the 2nd, it applied for the application of Section 11 of the Federal Bankruptcy Law and presented a proposal to provide all shares after management reconstruction to creditors in exchange for 359 million dollars (about 54.4 billion yen) debt relief. The company manufactures “dynamic glass,” which automatically adjusts the amount of heat and sunlight from the outdoors.

ITOCHU aims to acquire shares of approximately 150 billion yen and net profit of 880 billion yen this fiscal year
$ITOCHU(8001.JP)$On the 3rd, it announced a management plan aiming for net profit of 880 billion yen, share repurchases of approximately 150 billion yen, etc. for the 2024 fiscal year. The stock price turned upward in response to the announcement, and 6803 yen, which was 7% higher than the closing price the day before, was added.

Sumitomo Mitsui rebound for the first time in 3 days to restructure the finance businesses of 2 companies under the umbrella
$Sumitomo Mitsui Financial Group(8316.JP)$rebounded for the first time in 3 days. The company announced on the 3rd that it will reorganize SMBCCF for Sumitomo Mitsui Card and SMBC Consumer Finance (hereinafter, SMBCCF) under its umbrella as wholly owned subsidiaries of Sumitomo Mitsui Card.

Honda's sales in China fell 26% in March due to local price reduction offensive
$Honda Motor(7267.JP)$On the 3rd, it was announced that new car sales in March in the Chinese market fell 26.3% from the same month last year to 64,49 units. The year-on-year rate of decline was significant since July last year (32.8% decrease). Local players decided to cut prices for new energy vehicles such as electric vehicles (EVs) in February, so customers became competitors.

Petroleum-related stocks such as INPEX are high across the board, geopolitical risks have increased, and the WTI price has risen to the 85 dollar range
$Inpex(1605.JP)$Ya $Japan Petroleum Exploration(1662.JP)$、 $ENEOS Holdings(5020.JP)$、 $Idemitsu Kosan(5019.JP)$Petroleum-related stocks such as these are high across the board. The US crude oil futures exchange rate on the 2nd rose to 85.15 dollars per barrel, 1.44 dollars higher than the previous day for the May term of WTI. The price rose to 85.46 dollars at one point for the first time in about 5 months since late October last year. It was reported that Israel had bombed the Iranian embassy in Damascus, the capital of Syria, and the tense situation in the Middle East was alarmed. Also, the fact that it was reported that there was an attack on major Russian refineries by Ukrainian drones (drones) also boosted crude oil prices.

Tokyo Electron - Continued Growth: Damage to part of the company's Taiwan base building is not expected to prolong spread
$Tokyo Electron(8035.JP)$Continued growth. The company announced the damage situation for the earthquake with the epicenter in eastern Taiwan that occurred around 8:58 (Japan time) on the 3rd. At present, no human damage has been confirmed for the bases that the company has set up in the four regions of Taiwan. Also, although some damage to the building has been confirmed, it is said that effects that will be prolonged through restoration are not expected.

Isuzu - Zukushin New Mid-Term Budget Formulation 31.3 Fiscal Period Aiming for Sales of 6 Trillion Yen, 2.6 Trillion Yen Investment
$Isuzu Motors(7202.JP)$It continues to grow. The company announced on the 3rd that it has formulated a medium-term management plan with the 31.3 term as the final year. As financial targets for the final year, we aim for sales of 6 trillion yen, operating margin of 10% or more, and ROE (return on equity) of 15% or more. We will invest 1 trillion yen in innovation investments and 1.6 trillion yen in existing business investments. Shareholder returns are aimed at maintaining a dividend payout ratio (average) of 40% and continuing share repurchases.

Mitsubishi Electric - Falling and acquires French air conditioning company AIRCALO
$Mitsubishi Electric(6503.JP)$has declined. The company announced on the 3rd that it acquired all shares of AIRCALO, a French water and air conditioning business company, on 4/2 through wholly owned subsidiaries in Italy and the Netherlands. The positive impact on stock prices has been limited.

Nippon Steel's stock price falls US labor union criticizes takeover related proposals
$Nippon Steel(5401.JP)$has declined. On the 2nd, the American Steel Workers Union (USW) revealed that it had received a letter from Nippon Steel over the acquisition of US Steel, a major US steel company, and issued a statement criticizing that the details of the company's proposals relating to employment etc. were “empty promises.” Sales have become dominant due to uncertainty about the progress of acquisitions.

Distributor: Bloomberg, Nihon Keizai Shimbun, Dow Jones, Traders Web