Japan: The stocks of Japan's largest beer maker Asahi Breweries Ltd. were up 2.15 percent at 1,092 yen on Tuesday September 7 after Morgan Stanley lifted its rating to "Overweight" from "Equal-weight" and raised its price target to 1,560 yen from 1,400 yen. Morgan Stanley analyst Taizo Demura said on Tuesday the raise was due to the likelihood of Asahi bringing an early end to its extraordinary losses, the valuation of the company and its proactive stance to return value to shareholders, such as via higher dividends.

08 September, 2004