Question

ne year ago, a U.S. investor converted dollars to yen and purchased 100 shares of stock in a Japanese company at a price of 3,150 yen per share. The stock's total purchase cost was 315,000 yen. At the time of purchase, in the currency market 1 yen equaled $0.00952. Today, the stock is selling at a price of 3,465 yen per share, and in the currency market $1 equals 145 yen. The stock does not pay a dividend. If the investor were to sell the stock today and convert the proceeds back to dollars, what would be his realized return on his initial dollar investment from holding the stock

Answer 1

realized loss = -20.31%

Step-by-step explanation:

stock price ¥3,150, total operation ¥315,000

in US dollars = ¥315,000 x $0.00952 = $2,998.80

current market price ¥3,465, total operation ¥346,500

in US dollars = ¥346,500 / ¥145 = $2,389.66

realized loss = (current value in US dollars - initial investment) / initial investment = ($2,389.66 - $2,998.80) / $2,998.80 = -20.31%

Even though the stock price increased significantly (10%), the yen depreciated against the dollar even more (-38%)