Japan Machimura: Stocks don't reflect econ trend
TOKYO, Dec 28 (Reuters) - Japan's top government spokesman said on Friday that declines in Tokyo stock prices do not reflect the nation's solid economic fundamentals.
"The trend of the economy remains unchanged," Chief Cabinet Secretary Nobutaka Machimura told a news conference in response to a question about the Tokyo stock market's performance this year. The benchmark Nikkei average .N225 ended 2007 down 11.1 percent on the year, the first annual decline in five years.
Stock prices are affected by various factors such as global economic developments, Machimura said
"With uncertainties existing in global (economic) conditions, there are cases where stock price moves do not necessarily match Japan's real economic state," he said.
On price moves, Machimura said it was hard to judge whether rises in consumer prices were good or bad for the economy, but he said the economy could suffer if prices of an increasing number of daily items begin to rise and hurt consumer sentiment.
Data released on Friday showed Japan's core consumer prices rose 0.4 percent in November from a year earlier, their biggest annual rise in nearly a decade, mostly on rises in crude oil and food prices. (Reporting by Leika Kihara; Editing by Mike Miller)
