TOKYO, July 13 (Xinhua) -- Mitsubishi UFJ Financial Group Inc. (MUFG) on Monday became Japan's most valuable publicly traded company, marking the first time in about 39 years that a financial institution has claimed the top spot.
MUFG shares climbed around 3 percent from Friday's close to a record intraday high of 3,564 yen (around 22 U.S. dollars), supported by expectations of robust earnings for the business year ending March 2027. The stock finished at 3,541 yen, lifting the group's market value above 42 trillion yen.
Financial stocks have rallied, driven by the prospect that higher lending rates will boost their earnings following the Bank of Japan's interest rate hikes. The central bank raised its policy rate to 1.0 percent from 0.75 percent in June, the highest level in 31 years.
Toyota Motor Corp. had led Japan's market capitalization rankings for more than 22 years before relinquishing the top spot in recent weeks. SoftBank Group Corp. overtook Toyota on June 1 on optimism surrounding artificial intelligence, before chipmaker Kioxia Holdings Corp. took the lead, with its market value at one point nearing 60 trillion yen.
At Monday's close, Toyota ranked second with a market capitalization of nearly 41 trillion yen, while SoftBank Group and Kioxia were each valued at more than 36 trillion yen.
The last time a financial institution led Japan's market capitalization rankings was in June 1987, when the former Sumitomo Bank held the position.
MUFG forecasts group net profit of 2.7 trillion yen for the current business year, up 11.2 percent from a year earlier. ■
