Nikkei225
is a stock market index for the Tokyo Stock Exchange (TSE).
The Nikkei average is the most watched index of Asian stocks.
It has been calculated daily by the Nihon Keizai Shimbun
(Nikkei) newspaper since 1971. It is a price-weighted average
(the unit is Yen), and the components are reviewed once
a year.
The
Nikkei 225 began to be calculated on September 7, 1950,
retroactively calculated back to May 16, 1949.
The
Nikkei 225 Futures, introduced at the Osaka Securities Exchange
(OSE), Chicago
Mercantile Exchange (CME), Singapore Exchange (SGX)
, is now an internationally recognized futures index.
The
Nikkei average hit its all-time high on December 29, 1989
when it reached an intra-day high of 38,957.44 before closing
at 38,915.87. Its high for the 21st century stands just
above 18,300 points.
Another
major index for the Tokyo Stock Exchange is the Topix.
Weighting
and modifications
Stocks
are weighted on the Nikkei 225 by giving an equal weighting
based on a par value of 50 yen per share. Events such as
stock splits, removals and additions of constituents impact
upon the effective weighting of individual stocks and the
divisor. The Nikkei 225 is designed to reflect the overall
market, so there is no specific weighting of industries.
Statistics
The
Nikkei 225 stock average fell 3.3 percent to close at 12,433.4,
its lowest close in 2-1/2 years on March 13, 2008, in the
wake of Wall Street's retreat from its biggest rally since
2003, with regional investors worried by the continued slide
in the United States dollar and ongoing troubles in the
Economy of the United States.[1] The Nikkei 225 index sank
4.5 percent in early afternoon trading to 11,691.00 points,
its lowest since July 2005, on March 17, 2008, after JPMorgan
Chase told it would acquire troubled U.S. investment bank
Bear Stearns, signaling to investors the depths of the Subprime
mortgage crisis.[2] The Nikkei 225 closed up 176.65 points,
or 1.5 percent, at 11,964.16 on March 18, 2008 as concerns
persisted among investors about the health of the Economy
of the United States.[3]
Changes
to the components
Stocks
are reviewed annually and announcements of review results
are made in September. Changes, if required, are made at
the beginning of October. Changes may also take place at
any time if a stock is found to be ineligible for the Stock
Average (e.g. delistings, etc.). All proposed changes will
be announced in Nikkei's Japanese newspapers and will appear
on NNI.
After
a stock has been replaced, the divisor is reviewed and modified
to ensure a smooth transition of the stock index.
For
Component See:
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Nikkei_225#Components
References
