NEW YORK: Japanese technology conglomerate SoftBank Group Corp. has bought “billions of dollars” of equity derivatives related to US tech stocks, the Financial Times reported in its online edition on Friday.

SoftBank’s investments have “stoked the fevered rally” on the Nasdaq stock market in August, the British newspaper said, quoting people familiar with the matter.

The report said that the company snapped up call options, or derivatives that give the holder the right to buy a stock at a pre-agreed price, meaning a big profit for the buyer if the stock’s price surges.

Meanwhile, The Wall Street Journal reported on its online edition that the Japanese company has spent about 4 billion dollars for the investments.

The tech-heavy Nasdaq composite index shot up nearly 10 pct last month, setting record highs in many trading days after mid-August, as shares of Apple Inc. and Amazon.com Inc. attracted purchases.

JIJI Press