The iShares MSCI Japan Index Fund (NYSEArca: EWJ) rose 1% in U.S. trading Wednesday afternoon, following the Nikkei Stock Average higher despite more earthquakes this week and an upgrade of Japan’s nuclear crisis.
The operator of Japan’s troubled nuclear plant on Wednesday said it was still working on a plan to end the crisis, Reuters reported.
One month after a devastating earthquake and tsunami hit Japan, regulators have raised the nuclear crisis rating from level 5 to level 7. This is parallel to Chernobyl, thought to be the worst nuclear crisis in recent history. Still, exchange traded funds (ETFs) that invest in Japanese stocks have managed to trade sideways this week. [Aftershock May Rattle Japan ETF.]
However, iShares MSCI Japan is down about 8.3% for the month. The ETF is weighted heavily in industrials and consumer discretionary and top holdings include Toyota and Honda Motor Corp. [Japan ETF Steady.]
iShares MSCI Japan
On the flip side, currency investors expect insurers to repatriate some funds into yen in coming months to pay for rebuilding in the wake of the disaster in Japan, says Andrew Johnson for The Wall Street Journal. CurrencyShares Japanese Yen Trust (NYSEArca: FXY) has bounced recently after a sharp decline.
CurrencyShares Japanese Yen Trust
Other Japan ETF plays:
- WisdomTree Japan Small Cap Dividend (NYSEArca: DFJ): Down 5.2% over the past week; weights heavily in industrials and consumer discretionary sectors.
- SPDR Russell/Nomura Small Cap (NYSEArca: JSC): Down 5% over the past week; weighted heavily in industrials and consumer discretionary sectors.
- iShares MSCI Japan Small Cap (NYSEArca: SCJ): Down 5.3% over same time period; industrials, consumer discretionary and financials are top holdings.
- SPDR Russell/Nomura PRIME (NYSEArca: JPP): Down 5.4% over past week; industrials, consumer discretionary and financials are top holdings.
- WisdomTree Japan Hedged Equity (NYSEArca: DXJ): Down 1.7% over the past 10 days; weighted heavily in industrials and consumer discretionary sectors.
Read the disclaimer; Tom Lydon is a board member of Rydex|SGI.
Tisha Guerrero contributed to this article.