Warren Buffett letter propels Japan trading house shares to new highs

TOKYO -- The stock prices of three top Japanese trading houses hit record highs Monday on bullish comments by U.S. investor Warren Buffett, as well as on their strong earnings and expectations of further share buybacks.

Mitsubishi Corp. and Mitsui & Co. rose as much as 3% while Sumitomo Corp. climbed up to 1% during trading, all reaching a record after accounting for stock splits. Trading companies as a whole saw a 0.3% increase in share prices to a roughly one-month high.