The balance of long margin positions turned higher last week as buying spread to long-neglected shares.
The outstanding balance of shares bought on credit on the Tokyo, Osaka and Nagoya bourses stood at 1.63 trillion yen at the end of the week, up 46.01 billion yen over a week earlier, according to a weekly industry report.
In terms of volume, the balance rose for the sixth straight week, with investors opting for low- and medium-priced shares. Specifically, the balance stood at 2.61 billion shares, up 117.51 million.
Share prices turned markedly higher in the middle of the week, mirroring a leap in investor sentiment.
The balance of shares sold short also turned higher at 792.15 billion yen, up 17.62 billion yen, and at 870.81 million shares, up 52.63 million.
The long-short ratio rose to 2.06 from 2.04 in value but fell to 2.99 from 3.04 in volume.