Reuters – The value of Japanese retail-targeted mutual funds rose to a 10-month high of 58.8 trillion yen ($613 billion) in July, lifted by inflows into international equities funds and strength in share prices, an industry body said on Thursday.

It was the sixth straight month of increases in the value of publicly placed investment trust funds, or "toshins", as signs of a global economic recovery boost investor confidence. The value was also helped by rises in share prices, with the benchmark Nikkei share average .N225 gaining 4 percent in July.

The overall value of publicly placed investment trust funds rose by 1.7 trillion yen or 3 percent from the previous month to 58.8 trillion yen in July, the highest since September, Japan’s Investment Trusts Association said.

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Tags: economic recovery, international equities, investment trust, investment-trusts, investor-confidence, japan, mutual funds, nikkei, reuters, share prices, signs, trillion, trust-funds, yen

TREND Information – Major Asia and Pacific markets traded higher Tuesday in the waning days of a dismal year, reported CNN.

In Tokyo, the Nikkei closed 1.3 percent higher during an abbreviated final trading day of 2008. Despite the positive session, the index closed with its worst-ever annual percentage fall, losing 42.1 percent.

Elsewhere across the region, the KOSPI in Seoul was up 2.3 percent in afternoon trading, while Australia’s All Ordinaries index was 1.3 percent higher. Hong Kong’s Hang Seng picked up 0.9 percent.

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Tags: asia, australia, cnn, hang seng, hong kong, kospi, nikkei, pacific markets, seoul, tokyo