Japan Steel Makers’ Share Price Recover, But Far from Peak

Share price of steel makers at first section of Tokyo Stock Exchange increased at end of fiscal 2009 ended March 2010 from a year earlier. Market capital recovered more than 2 trillion yen for Nippon Steel and JFE Holdings and more than 1 trillion yen for Sumitomo Metal Industries. Share increased widely for ferroalloy makers of Nippon Denko and Pacific Metals and special steel makers including Sanyo Special Steel and Daido Steel recovered the share price. Electric furnace steel makers’ share price was mixed depending on the products.

Japanese steel demand recovered around 85% level of the peak. However, the recovered level is mixed between export and domestic market and between manufacturing and construction. The steel makers’ share price is also depending on the fields.

Nikkei 225 Average price was 11,089 yen per share at end of fiscal 2009, which was 37.1% higher than fiscal 2008 end. JFE Holdings’ share price increased by 75.5% due to higher export rate under strong Asian market while Nisshin Steel’s share price increased by 18.2% due to slump of stainless market. Special stele makers’ share price increased for increased by 73.4% Sanyo Special Steel, by 61.7% for Daido Steel and by 58.7% for Aichi Steel due to better automobile market.

The electric furnace carbon steel makers’ share price is mixed depending on the fields while the share prices are relative low for many of them under higher ferrous scrap price and slump of construction market.

Japanese major steel makers’ market capital recovered while the level is much lower than the peak. The major 5 steels’ market capital is still less than half of the peak while the market capital was 5.718 trillion yen for Nippon Steel, 5.046 trillion yen for JFE Holdings, 3.249 trillion yen for Sumitomo Metals, 1.355 trillion yen for Kobe Steel and 525 billion yen for Nisshin Steel at end of September 2007.