Japan will spur your gains

Article Excerpt

ISHARES MSCI JAPAN INDEX FUND, $50.97, is a buy. The ETF (New York symbol EWJ; buy or sell through brokers; us.ishares.com) aims to mirror the return of the Morgan Stanley Capital International Japan Index. The fund’s top holdings include Toyota, 5.6%; Sony Corp., 3.1%; Mitsubishi UFJ Financial, 2.9%; Keyence (sensors), 2.3%; Tokyo Electron (computer chips), 1.9%; Sumitomo Mitsui Financial, 1.8%; Hitachi (conglomerate), 1.8%; and Mitsubishi Corp. (conglomerate), 1.6%. The ETF’s MER is a relatively low 0.50%. Japan’s outlook is improving steadily as the country continues to stimulate its domestic economy and as it reopens its borders to businesses, travellers and tourists. Meanwhile, despite the key manufacturing segment being hurt by the impact of higher raw material and fuel costs, Japan is now benefiting from the weaker yen and the boost that provides its exports. iShares MSCI Japan Index Fund is a buy. buy. …