Nippon Sheet Glass Co. gained the most in three weeks in Tokyo trading after the Nikkei newspaper reported the Japanese glassmaker’s solar cell-related sales probably increased in the first half.
The shares rose 3.4 percent to 337 yen as of the 11 a.m. break on the Tokyo Stock Exchange, headed for the largest increase since Aug. 11. The Nikkei 225 Stock Average fell as much as 0.5 percent to 10,438.51.
The Tokyo-based company’s sales of glass used in solar cells in the April-September period will likely rise 15 percent to about 15 billion yen ($161 million) on the same period a year earlier, helped by increasing demand in North America, the Nikkei reported today.
“The Nikkei story is speculation based on anecdotal evidence,” Hiroya Tanaka, a spokesman at Nippon Sheet Glass, told Bloomberg by phone today.
The company forecast on May 20 solar glass sales of about 40 billion yen for this fiscal year. Last year’s division sales were 25 billion yen, the company said.
