Mitsubishi UFJ Financial Group Tops Japan Market Cap Rankings

Mitsubishi UFJ Financial Group became Japan’s most valuable company by market capitalization on Monday. The group’s shares closed at ¥3,541 on the Tokyo Stock Exchange, lifting its total value above ¥42 trillion. The stock reached an intraday record of ¥3,564 during the session.

Bank-related shares performed strongly on the same day. Sumitomo Mitsui Financial Group briefly touched an all-time high of ¥7,029. Market participants pointed to expectations of further interest-rate increases by the Bank of Japan and greater corporate capital spending.

UFJ estimates that each 0.25-percentage-point rise in the central bank’s policy rate adds ¥180 billion to its earnings. The group targets consolidated net profit of ¥2.7 trillion for the fiscal year ending March 2027, an 11.2 percent increase from the prior year, assuming the policy rate stays near 1 percent.

The Bank of Japan raised its policy rate from around 0.75 percent at its June meeting. The current level marks the first time since 1993 that a bank-related issue has led the annual ranking of listed companies by market value.