Japan trading house stocks rally as Buffett hints at more buying

Billionaire investor and the companies agree to increase ownership ceiling

As Berkshire Hathaway approached a 10% ownership ceiling at each of Japan's top five trading houses, the parties involved have mutually agreed to adjust this threshold to make room for more investment. (Nikkei montage/Source photos by Shinya Sawai, AP, and Reuters)

RYOHTAROH SATOH

February 25, 2025 12:51 JST

Updated on February 25, 2025 20:05 JST

TOKYO -- The stock prices of Japan's trading houses surged on Tuesday after billionaire investor Warren Buffett said that the five largest trading houses have agreed to relax the ceiling of each company's ownership, hinting that he would buy more.

Mitsubishi Corp.'s price on the Tokyo Stock Exchange rose 8.8% compared with last week's close, while those of Itochu, Mitsui & Co., Sumitomo and Marubeni rose by between 4.7% and 7.4%. The Nikkei average benchmark overall declined by 1.4%.