Foreign Investors Add Japan Stocks; Production to Fall Between 5% and 15%

Nigel Thomas
14 Apr, 2011
New York City

Stocks in Tokyo eased as investors face a daunting task of assessing the production losses across several industries. 123jump.com survey conducted in last two weeks suggested production loss of as much as 15%. Foreigners added $4.6 billion of net new stocks in the first week of current fiscal year.

[R]5:00 PM Tokyo – Stocks in Tokyo edged lower as investors face a daunting task of assessing the production losses across several industries. 123jump.com survey conducted in last two weeks suggested production loss of as much as 15%. Foreigners added $4.6 billion of net new stocks in the first week of current fiscal year.[/R]

Stocks in Tokyo edged higher as investors face a difficult time assessing the impact of triple disasters on different industries. Foreign investors have shown enthusiasm and added to their net positions in Japan but earnings are a suspect at many companies.

The rolling power cuts in Tokyo region has affected at most companies and according to a 123jump.com survey conducted in the last two weeks, at least 70% companies are estimating production decline between 5% and 15%.

The Nikkei 225 Stock Average increased 0.1% or 12.74 to 9.653.92 and the broader Topix gained 0.3% to 846.72.

The Nikkei index is down 7% since March 11 earthquake and broader Topix is down 9%.

The government data showed that foreign investors net purchased $4.6 billion or 390 billion yen of stocks last week.

Ministry of Finance also said foreigners bought 1.477 trillion yen of money-market instruments and sold 445.4 billion of Japanese bonds in the first week of the current fiscal year.

Japanese investors sold 161 billion yen of foreign stocks last week, fourth weekly net stock selling in a row.

Stock Movers

Daihatsu Motor Co. increased 2.4% to 1,152 yen after the company said it will restart production at Kyoto and Osaka plants on April 18.

Isuzu Motors Ltd soared 6.2% to

Modec Inc increased 5.2% to 1,532 yen after the company said it has been named as one of the two companies to conduct engineering design for Browse liquefied natural gas project in Western Australia.

Shin-Etsu increased 2% to 4,275 yen after the maker of synthetic resins was estimated to start production of silicon wafers at its plant in Fukushima as early as in two weeks. The news was first reported by Jiji News.

On the news, Tosho Corp added 4.7% to 289 yen and Nitto Denko increased 3.7% to 4,305 yen.

Tokyo Electric Power eased 0.4% to 500 yen on the speculation that the company faces limited liability from the disaster struck Fukushima nuclear power plant. Separately, the company said radiation level in the ocean near the power plant has increased.

Toshiba Corp increased 2% to 404 yen after the company chief executive said that production will recover in the second half of this year from the ongoing power cuts. Toshiba President Sasaki also told reporters in Tokyo that earnings for the year ended in March may be ahead of estimates set in January.