AprilJune profit came in at 23.33 bln yen
BOJ39;s policy tweak could be a major tailwind
Profit at wholesale division plunges due to slow trading

TOKYO, Aug 1 Reuters Nomura Holdings Inc on Tuesday reported a jump in firstquarter net profit as a strong Japanese stock market helped the country39;s biggest brokerage and investment bank attract money from global investors.

Renewed investor interest in Japanese stocks, driven by hopes for an end to deflation and a corporate drive for better capital use, boosted Nomura39;s assets under management as well as its retail client assets to record highs.

We had a market tailwind, Chief Financial Officer Takumi Kitamura told a media briefing.

The Bank of Japan39;s policy tweak, a rise in corporate action and a new tax exemption scheme for individual investors together are likely to keep the momentum going in the Japanese bond and stock markets, he said.

Nomura39;s AprilJune profit came in at 23.33 billion yen 163.42 million versus 1.696 billion yen a year earlier, when fears of slowing global economic growth hit financial markets and forced investment portfolio writedowns at the Japanese firm.

But the quarterly profit is a small fraction of Nomura39;s core pretax income target of 288 billion yen for the year to March 2025, a bullish goal for CEO Kentaro Okuda who has faced three years of profit declines since taking the top job in 2020.

In contrast to the strong gains at the retail business, Nomura39;s wholesale division,…