Retailers Gain in Tokyo; Tepco in Wild Swings

Nigel Thomas
09 Jun, 2011
New York City

Stocks in Japan gained for the third day in a row. Tepco traded at a new low on a massive trading volume that only highlighted market jitters. Trading in Tepco accounted for nearly one third of all trading on the Tokyo Stock Exchange. Retailers led the gainers.

[R]4:40 PM Tokyo – Stocks in Japan gained for the third day in a row. Tepco traded at a new low on a massive trading volume that only highlighted market jitters. Trading in Tepco accounted for nearly one third of all trading on the Tokyo Stock Exchange. Retailers led the gainers.[/R]

The benchmark Nikkei index gained for the third day in a row as foreign investors focused on the relative valuations of Japanese stocks. Domestic investors shied away as banks and utilities led the decliners for the third week in a row.

Stocks rebounded in the afternoon after the release of consumer sentiment data that showed an improvement.

The Nikkei 225 Stock Average added 0.2% to 9,467.15 and the broader Topix index fell 0.2% to 812.95.

Tokyo trading volume rose to 1.86 billion shares from 1.7 billion on Wednesday and rose from the previous week average of 1.8 billion shares. In trading, 805 shares fell and 647 shares closed higher.

Tepco trading soared to 401 million shares, nearly one third of all shares trading on the first section of the Tokyo Stock Exchange. The previous trading volume high was 303 million shares.

The yen weakened to 79.65 from 70.71 against one dollar and rose to 115.20 from 115.60 against one euro.

Stock Movers

Tepco dropped to a new record low of 148 yen but recovered to close at 192 yen in a heavy trading after short sellers raced to cover position.

The sharp swing in the utility company stock was fuelled by the growing uncertainty of the future of the nuclear power plant operator.

Fast Retailing increased 0.9% to 12,000 yen after the release of consumer sentiment data.

K’s Holdings increased 2.6% to 3,325 yen after trading at a record high of 3,330 yen.

ABC-Mart increased 0.6% to 3,360 yen, Yamada Denki increased 1.8% to 6,880 yen and Nitori Holdings added 1.4% to 7,140 yen.

Nintendo extended losses for the second day in a row with a loss of 4.5% to 16,160 yen after the company’s latest game console failed to impress market analysts. Nintendo declined to a new five-year low. The stock has lost 10.2% in the last two sessions.