Japan’s stock market, down by more than half from 2007, is likely to experience a “dawn” in 2009 as the government supports small businesses and the U.S. tackles the financial crisis, Credit Suisse Group wrote in a report. “We forecast 2009 will represent a dawn for the Tokyo market, a period before the return of sunshine,” Credit Suisse’s Shinichi Ichikawa, chief Japan equity strategist in Tokyo, wrote. President-elect Barack Obama’s “inauguration will have an immediate positive impact on Japanese stocks as he leads the U.S. out of the financial crisis.” The benchmark Topix index could rise as much as 42 percent to 1,200 by the end of the year, he said. The brokerage recommended staying “overweight” in defensive and domestic shares as the yen is likely to continue strengthening against the dollar and euro, depressing earnings for exporters. Credit Suisse advised buying Softbank Corp., the nation’s third-largest mobile phone operator, because the company is generating more cash per share than its rivals, and the stock price will likely rise to reflect that. Yamada Denki Co., Japan’s biggest electronics retailer, is a “top pick” because the company has stable demand and growing market share, making the 54 percent stock slide in 2008 excessive. The Topix has lost 43 percent this year, its worst annual performance, eclipsing the 40 percent plunge in 1990 when Japan’s bubble economy burst.

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