Nikkei Advances 1.9%; Sony Estimates Loss, Nissan Revises Net Higher

Nigel Thomas
04 Nov, 2011
New York City

Nikkei index in Tokyo gained 1.9% on Friday but for the week lost 2.8%. Sony revised annual loss higher and said it will lose money for the fourth year in a row. Nissan estimated higher profit despite higher yen and Thai floods.

[R]6:00 PM Tokyo – Nikkei index in Tokyo gained 1.9% on Friday but for the week lost 2.8%. Sony revised annual loss higher and said it will lose money for the fourth year in a row. Nissan estimated higher profit despite higher yen and Thai floods.[/R]

Stocks in Japan closed higher after the central bank in Europe lowered its key lending rate and weekly jobless claims declined in the U.S.

The Nikkei 225 Stock Average increased 1.9% to 8,801.40 and the broader Topix index increased 1.8% to 752.02. For the week, the Nikkei index declined 2.8%.

In trading, 1.67 billion shares changed hands on the main board of the Tokyo Stock Exchange compared to 1.77 billion shares on Wednesday.

Ministry of Finance said that foreign investors bought a net 103.1 billion yen or $1.3 billion of Japanese stocks last week.

Stock Movers

Toyota Motor increased 47 yen to 2,552 yen and Honda Motor Co. added 94 yen to 2,398 yen and Nissan Motor Co Ltd added 34 yen to 735 yen.

Nissan raised its full year outlook 7.4% to 290 billion yen despite stronger yen and Thai floods. Automakers are struggling to revive production after parts shortages build as Thai floods ravage several production locations.

Honda plans to trim production in Brazil, Philippines and UK and halt production at six factories in Canada and U.S. in the week ending November 10.

Sony Corp decreased 120 yen or 8% to 1,400 yen, Panasonic Corp fell 6 yen to 733 yen and Canon Inc increased 5 yen to 3,485 yen.

Sony plunged 8% after it forecasted its annual loss of 90 billion yen higher than its earlier estimate of 60 billion yen. Sony estimates an annual loss for the fourth years in a row.

Nintendo Co. Ltd added 240 yen to 11,850 yen.

Olympus Corp decreased 82 yen to 1,118 yen and the company said it will delay its release of its earnings for the latest quarter on November 8 as it works to arrange an independent panel to review its past merger deals.

Fanuc Ltd increased 530 yen to 12,880 yen and Kyocera closed up 180 yen at 6,810 yen and Sharp Corp rose 30 yen to 719 yen.

Mitsui OSK Lines, Ltd increased 3 yen to 277 yen, Kawasaki Kisen Kaisha, Ltd closed up 1 yen to 150 yen and Nippon Yusen K.K. rose 1 yen to 190 yen.

Dai-ichi Life fell 2.9% to 86,100 yen after Greece decided to reverse its earlier decision to put to a referendum EU bailout.

Property and Casualty insurers declined on the mounting losses related to Thailand floods.

MS & AD Insurance Group Holdings, Inc added 2.8% or 42 yen to 1,529 yen and NKSJ Holdings Inc rose 27 yen to 1,545 yen.

Mitsubishi UFJ Financial Group rose 5 yen to 339 yen and Sumitomo Mitsui Financial Group increased 20 yen to 2,164 yen.

Trading companies rose after crude oil prices rose above $94 a barrel and copper surged 5% in the last two days of trading.

Mitsubishi Corp increased 36 yen to 1,586 yen and Mitsui & Co, Ltd rose 30 yen to 1,134 yen. Marubeni Corp increased 20 yen to 469 yen.

Komatsu Ltd increased 127 yen to 1,970 yen and Hitachi Construction Machinery Co increased 82 yen to 1,537 yen.