Japan shares rebound as soccer stocks rebound

TOKYO Reuters Japanese shares of soccer related companies had a good day on Friday as they mirrored the national team's rollercoaster performance at the World Cup, where the Samurai Blue delivered another shocking win over global powerhouse Spain.

Japan advances to the knockout round after beating four-times champions Germany in their first match last week. CyberAgent Inc, which has been streaming all of the World Cup matches on its Abema platform, was the Nikkei share average's best performer, surging 7.3% before ending up 3.95%. The benchmark Nikkei fell 1.59%.

Sonoko Miyakawa, an investor relations official at CyberAgent said that with this latest match against Spain, we expect a new high for access numbers.

Sportswear maker Mizuno Corp and British-style pub chain Hub Co, which are not listed on the Nikkei, gained 0.98% and 7.03%, respectively.

On Monday, a day after Japan's defeat, shares of CyberAgent fell 7.6%, Mizuno lost 3.7% and Hub lost 17.5%, as fans lost hope of Japan advancing to the next round, with a formidable Spain as their final opponent.

A Mizuno spokeswoman said sales of soccer boots in the 10 days through December 1 more than doubled from the same period a year ago at its two directly owned stores and increased by 1.4 times online.

A Mizuho spokeswoman said we're getting a lot of calls about the limited-edition soccer boots that the Samurai Blue are wearing.

The Pub operator Hub said COVID 19 could cloud comparisons against the 2018 World Cup, but there's big hope riding on the rest of the tournament.