Buy Japan’s leading stocks

Article Excerpt

ISHARES MSCI JAPAN INDEX FUND, $58.63, is a buy. The ETF (New York symbol EWJ; buy or sell through brokers; us.ishares.com) aims for the return of the Morgan Stanley Capital International (MSCI) Japan Index. The fund’s top holdings include Toyota, 4.3%; Sony Corp., 3.5%; Keyence (sensors), 2.7%; Mitsubishi UFJ Financial, 2.3%; Daiichi Sankyo (pharma), 1.8%; Hitachi (conglomerate), 1.6%; Sumitomo Mitsui Financial, 1.6%; Shin Etsu Chemical, 1.6%; and KDDI (telecom), 1.5%. The ETF’s MER is a relatively low 0.50%. Japan’s outlook is improving slowly as the country opens its domestic economy and its borders to businesses, travellers and tourists. Meanwhile, despite the key manufacturing segment being hurt by the impact of rising raw material and fuel costs, as well as slowing overseas growth and slumping chip demand, Japan is now benefiting from the weaker yen and the boost that provides its exports. iShares MSCI Japan Index Fund is a buy. buy. …