Nikkei Drops; DPJ Reelects Prime Minister Kan

Chandrasekhar Atreya
14 Sep, 2010
New York City

Stocks in Japan dropped marginally after yen hovered near the 15-year record high. The ruling party elected Naoto Kan ending the two month of uncertainties. New condo sales in Tokyo surged 18.5% in August and increased in western Japan.

[R]5:00 PM Tokyo, Japan – Stocks in Japan dropped marginally after yen hovered near the 15-year record high. The ruling party elected Naoto Kan ending the two month of uncertainties. New condo sales in Tokyo surged 18.5% in August and increased in western Japan.[/R]

Stocks in Tokyo trading fell for the first time in four days after the yen traded near 15-month new high. Prime Minister Naoto Kan requested China to stop buying Japanese bonds as the recent purchase of Japanese bonds by China has also contributed to the rise in the yen.

The Nikkei 225 Stock Average lost 0.24% or 22.51 to close at 9,299.31. The broader Topix also lost 0.3% to close at 834.87.

Of the 225 stocks in the index, 67 gained, 135 declined and 23 were unchanged.

The ruling Democratic Party of Japan voted Tuesday afternoon in favor of Naoto Kan as its leader following a challenge mounted by Ichiro Ozawa and ending the uncertainty of the Kan’s tenure.

The number of new condominium for sale in Tokyo and its three neighboring prefectures grew 18.5% in August from a year earlier to 2,268, marking it the seventh month of increase in a row, Real Estate Economic Institute Co reported Tuesday.

Purchase contracts were signed for 74.8% of the condos, up 5.5%, for the eighth month in a row. A similar uptrend was also seen in western Japan in the Kinki region that includes Kyoto, Osaka and four other prefectures, the fourth month of expansion in a row.

The yen hit a new 15-year high against the greenback Tuesday after trading intra-day high of 83.23 against the dollar.

Toyota Motor Corp said Monday it will bring in six new hybrid models worldwide by 2012. The company said it will display electric cars it is developing jointly with Tesla Motors Inc at a Los Angeles auto show in November.

Mitsubishi Electric Corp said Monday it will debut a large-scale organic electroluminescence display system on September 21. This indoor-use display system is built from modules measuring 38.4 centimeter square, linked from screens of at least 100 inches in size.

Prime Minister Naoto Kan Monday highlighted the merits of Japan’s shinkansen bullet trains to visiting California Governor Arnold Schwarzenegger during their meeting in Tokyo.

“Japan’s shinkansen trains offer not only speed but also outstanding safety features,” Kan told Schwarzenegger, promoting the technology for California’s proposed high-speed rail network.

The Deposit Insurance Corp of Japan said Monday that 796 customers of failed Incubator Bank of Japan applied for refunds of their deposits, totaling 5.03 billion yen at the end of Monday.

Toyota Tsusho Corp said Monday it has acquired a stake in Indian pipe maker Kuma Stainless Steel Ltd. The Japanese company purchased 30% of Kuma’s outstanding stock from leading shareholder Maruichi Steel Tube Ltd, which held a 95% stake in the Indian firm.

Chubu Electric Power Co plans to rebuild an old oil-fired plant by doubling its capacity using the fuel LPG, a spokesman said.

The company will increase the capacity of the Nagoya-based plant to 2,200 megawatts from the existing 1,190 megawatts, spokesman Hiroki Okada said over phone. The company will announce details of the plan Tuesday evening he said.

Gainers & Losers

Alps Electric Co Ltd led the gainers in the Nikkei with a gain of 3.15% to 654 yen followed by Shinsei Bank Ltd 3.08% to 67 yen and Hino Motors Ltd 3.02% to 410 yen.

Obayashi Corp led the decliners in the index with a fall of 4.76% to 340 yen followed by Sumco Corp 4.42% to 1,253 yen and Asahi Glass Co 2.6% to 860 yen.