Stock investors in Japan may be breathing a sigh of relief after the key Nikkei index regained the 13,000 line Thursday. But economists say it is still hard to see Japan's financial sector rebounding to a healthy state in the near future as heavy selling of Tokyo stocks earlier in the week largely dented their unrealized profits.
On Thursday, the 225-issue Nikkei stock average jumped 263.72 points, or 2.06 percent up from Wednesday, to 13,092.78 on speculation of a possible bailout of U.S. bond insurers that should restore confidence in the global financial system.
Eiji Kinouchi, a senior strategist at Daiwa Institute of Research, said many investors now feel stock prices have hit bottom.