Toshiba shares jumped more than six per cent today as investors voiced their approval of the company's alleged decision to abandon the HD DVD optical disc format.

There's still no word from the company on claims made this weekend that its board will meet this week to formally accept defeat in the HD format war, but when the Tokyo stock exchange opened this morning, Toshiba shares began gaining value.

From an opening price of ¥784, Toshiba shares quickly peaked at ¥837, a 6.7 per cent increase. Trading continued, and the stock is currently 5.7 per cent up on the opening price to ¥829.

Sony, the company leading the efforts behind HD DVD's rival format, Blu-ray Disc, saw its shares rise more than one per cent during the day.

So far, Toshiba has said only that no decision on the future of HD DVD has yet been made. However, it did concede that it is indeed having to reconsider its plans, citing this year's announcements from Warner Home Video, and US retail giants Best Buy and Wal-Mart, to adopt Blu-ray Disc exclusively.

42 comments posted — Comment period finished