The share prices of bank note-related firms received a boost Friday after the government revealed it will redesign the 1,000 yen, 5,000 yen and 10,000 yen bills in an effort to thwart counterfeiting operations.
ATM manufacturers Omron Corp. and Oki Electric Industry Co., along with vending machine distributor Fuji Denki Reiki Co., posted sharp gains Friday. Oki was the volume leader for the day.
Omron rose 37 yen to 1,737 yen while Oki jumped 27 yen to 239 yen.
Fuji Denki closed at 387 yen, up 21 yen, after posting a year-to-date high of 436 yen.
Brokers said these issues drew active buying from individual investors and brokerage dealers on expectations that demand for ATMs and vending machines will increase ahead of the planned circulation of the new bills in fiscal 2004.
Makers of printing ink also rose, with Toyo Ink Mfg. Co., the nation's leading player in the sector, rising 3 yen to 340 yen.
Nippon Conlux Co., a Tokyo-based manufacturer of machines that recognize different coins and notes, advanced 62 yen to 504 yen.
Brokers, however, questioned the sustainability of this rise.
The surge will probably be short-lived because the stocks will soon meet profit-taking activity as investors lose their initial enthusiasm, said Yuji Ono, manager of the Equity Marketing Division at Nikko Cordial Securities Inc.
"Stocks in these sectors rose when the government of the late Prime Minister Keizo Obuchi launched 2,000 yen notes," he said. "But the rise was only temporary. I think this will be the case this time, too."
A spokesman for Nippon Conlux agreed with Ono, stating that it is "too early" to comment on the jump in the firm's share price.