Kawasaki Kisen Jumps in Tokyo as Baltic Index Gains

[Joanne98]

Jan. 27 (Bloomberg) -- Kawasaki Kisen Kaisha Ltd., Japan’s third-largest shipping line, jumped the most in more than a month in Tokyo trading after the Baltic Dry Index rose for a fifth day.

Kawasaki Kisen rose as much as 10 percent to 379 yen and traded at 376 yen at the 11 a.m. trading break on the Tokyo Stock Exchange. Nippon Yusen K.K., the country’s biggest shipping line, added as much as 6.3 percent to 492 yen. Mitsui O.S.K. Lines Ltd., the second-biggest, gained as much as 7.1 percent to 590 yen.

The Baltic Dry index, which tracks transport rates on international trade routes, rose 1.5 percent to 995 yesterday on demand for steelmaking raw materials in China. The gain in the index typically means shipping companies are able to charge customers more.

“The gain in the Baltic is leading investors to buy shipping stocks,” said Yoshihisa Miyamoto, an analyst in Tokyo at Okasan Securities Co. “The index is still at historically low levels and it’s hard to imagine the rally continuing.”

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