Sony Surges to Highest Since 2011 on Stimulus, Earnings

By Pavel Alpeyev and Grace Huang

Sony Corp. (6758) rose to the highest in more than three years after the Bank of Japan’s expanded monetary easing triggered a stock rally and the company posted earnings that beat analysts estimates.
The shares surged 11 percent to 2,301 yen at the close of trade in Tokyo, the highest since May 2011.
BOJ Governor Haruhiko Kuroda unexpectedly boosted the annual target for enlarging the monetary base to achieve a goal of 2 percent inflation, triggering a 2.6 percent rise in the Topix index today. Sony also rallied after reporting a smaller-than-expected quarterly loss as demand for PlayStation 4 game consoles and image sensors limited the effect of a writedown at the Xperia smartphone business.
“Kuroda is in part responsible for Sony’s shares shooting straight up,” said Yasuaki Kogure, chief investment officer at Tokyo’s SBI Asset Management Co. “Investors have
finally seen the bottom and that’s helping reverse the share declines.”
Markets in Japan were closed yesterday for a public holiday.
Sony’s net loss widened to 136 billion yen ($1.2 billion) in the quarter ended Sept. 30, as Sony took a 176 billion yen charge on its Xperia phone business.
The earnings showed strong results across the company’s electronics business, Damian Thong, an analyst at Macquarie Group Ltd., said in a report as he maintained an outperform rating on the stock.