Japan’s soccer-related shares mirror Samurai Blue’s efficiency By Reuters

By Nobuyo Saito

TOKYO (Reuters) – Japanese shares of soccer-related firms had an excellent day on Friday as they mirrored the nationwide group’s roller-coaster efficiency on the World Cup the place the “Samurai Blue” delivered one other surprising win, this time over international powerhouse Spain.

Having additionally crushed four-times champions Germany of their first match final week, Japan advances to the knockout spherical on the prime of the desk. It misplaced in opposition to Costa Rica on Sunday.

CyberAgent Inc, which has been streaming all the World Cup matches on its Abema platform, was by far the share common’s greatest performer, surging 7.3% earlier than ending up 3.95%. The benchmark Nikkei fell 1.59%.

Entry to the corporate’s streaming platform hit a document of greater than 10 million the day Japan clinched a shock victory over Germany. By the tip of the second match in opposition to Costa Rica, the week’s viewing on Abema had topped 30 million.

“With this newest match in opposition to Spain, we count on a brand new excessive for entry numbers,” mentioned Sonoko Miyakawa, an investor relations official at CyberAgent.

Sportswear maker Mizuno Corp and British-style pub chain Hub Co, which aren’t listed on the Nikkei, gained 0.98% and seven.03%, respectively.

On Monday, a day after Japan’s defeat, shares of CyberAgent fell 7.6%, Mizuno shed 3.7% and Hub tanked 17.5%, as followers misplaced hope of Japan advancing to the subsequent spherical, with a formidable Spain as their remaining opponent.

A Mizuno spokesperson mentioned gross sales of soccer boots within the 10 days by Dec. 1 greater than doubled from the identical interval a 12 months in the past at its two immediately owned shops and elevated by 1.4 occasions on-line.

“We’re particularly fielding a whole lot of calls concerning the limited-edition soccer boots that the Samurai Blue are carrying,” a Mizuho spokesperson mentioned.

Pub operator Hub mentioned COVID-19 might cloud comparisons in opposition to the final World Cup in 2018, however that “there’s huge hope driving” on the remainder of the event.