Valuation Discount: Securities Firms and Stock Tumble

valuation discount: That's the second-biggest decline among major securities firms worldwide after Societe Generale SA, outpacing even notoriously poor performers like Deutsche Bank AG. Nomura's valuation discount versus global financial companies deepened to 58 percent this week, the widest gap since Bloomberg began tracking the data in 1999. ; The figures underscore entrenched skepticism over Nagai's plans to revive a business buffeted by years of stop-start international expansions and an increasingly competitive battle for retail traders in Japan, according to The Japan Times. While valuations this low have foreshadowed past rallies for Nomura, some investors are losing patience after watching the stock tumble more than 70 percent since the ill-fated takeover of Lehman Brothers Holdings Inc.'s European and Asian operations in 2008. Japan's largest brokerage has dropped almost 3 percent in Tokyo trading since Chief Executive Officer Koji Nagai unveiled a sweeping overhaul plan on April 4, bringing its six-month slide to 23 percent. The market seems to be saying If the recovery process takes longer, we do not need to rush back into this name,' said Hideyasu Ban, senior research analyst at CLSA Ltd. in Tokyo. Nomura watchers have cited several reasons for continued skepticism, including uncertainty about revenue growth and the pace of cost cuts. The stock closed 0.7 percent higher in Tokyo on Thursday, after earlier falling as much as 1.2 percent. (news.financializer.com). As reported in the news.