Nikkei Plunged 17% in 2011

Nigel Thomas
30 Dec, 2011
New York City

Stocks in Japan suffered from multiple forces driving the market lower for the second year in a row. The Nikkei declined 17.3% in the year after falling 3% in 2010. Freight shippers led the decliners with more than 50% fall and machinery makers and electronics exporters suffered as the yen gained.

[R]7:00 PM Tokyo – Stocks in Japan suffered from multiple forces driving the market lower for the second year in a row. The Nikkei declined 17.3% in the year after falling 3% in 2010. Freight shippers led the decliners with more than 50% fall and machinery makers and electronics exporters suffered as the yen strengthened.[/R]

Stocks in Tokyo trading rebounded after declining for the three days in a row but closed down in the week.

For the year, Japanese investors suffered from the natural disaster, nuclear meltdown and companies struggled with the strong yen and supply linkage problems linked to Thailand floods.

The Nikkei 225 Stock Average rose 0.7% to 8,455.35 and the broader Topix index added 0.9% to 728.61 and plunged 19% in the year.

In 2011, the Nikkei declined 17.3% after falling 3% in 2010.

Shipping companies led the market decliners with losses of more than 50% and automakers plunged between 10% and 40%.

Banks and financial services declined more than 25% reflecting the ongoing worries in the euro zone.

Machinery makers and electronics exporters were among the worst decliners after the yen surged to a 10-year high against the euro and traded near 25-year high against the dollar.

Stock Movers

Toyota Motor rose 35 yen to 2,565 yen and Honda Motor Co. closed up 24 yen to 2,348 yen and Nissan Motor Co Ltd closed flat at 692 yen.

For the year, Toyota declined 20%, Honda fell 27% and Nissan edged lower 10.5%.

Sony Corp increased 27 yen to 1,382 yen, Panasonic Corp rose 10 yen to 654 yen and Canon Inc closed up 10 yen to 3,410 yen.

For the year, Sony plunged 52%, Panasonic fell 43% and Canon Inc declined 19%.

Nintendo Co. Ltd increased 10 yen to 10,540 yen and for the year dropped 56% and Nexon Co Ltd closed flat at 1,107 yen.

Olympus Corp increased 7 yen to 1,012 yen and plunged 59% after the company revealed that management hid losses of more than $1.4 billion for more than a decade.

Fanuc Ltd closed down 30 yen to 11,780 yen and Kyocera added 50 yen at 6,190 yen. Nikon Corp increased 27 yen to 1,714 yen.

For the 2011, Fanuc declined 5.5%, Kyocera fell 25% and Nikon gained 4.1%.

Elpida Memory Inc added 7 yen to 358 yen and declined in the year 62% and Ulvac, Inc closed unchanged at 944 yen and fell 56% in the year.

Mitsui O.S.K. Lines, Ltd increased 3 yen to 298 yen and dropped 46% in the year, Kawasaki Kisen Kaisha, Ltd closed down 1 yen to 139 yen and plunged 61% and Nippon Yusen K.K. closed flat at 197 yen and tumbled 45% in the year.

Daiichi Sankyo Ltd decreased 2 yen to 1,526 yen and dropped 14% and Astellas Pharma Inc closed up 25 yen at 3,130 yen and added 1.1% in the year.

Fast Retailing Co. increased 160 yen to 14,000 yen and gained 8.3% in the year.

Himaraya Co., Ltd declined 36 yen to 524 yen after the retailer of sporting goods reported a net loss of 267 million for the nine months ending November 30. For the year the stock soared 33%.

Ms&Ad Insurance Group Holdings, Inc added 9 yen to 1,426 yen and dropped 30% in the year and NKSJ Holdings Inc rose 2 yen to 1,510 yen and plunged 37% in the year.

Mitsubishi UFJ Financial Group closed up 4 yen to 327 yen and declined 26% in the year Sumitomo Mitsui Financial Group increased 20 yen to 2,144 yen and fell 26% in the year.

Komatsu Ltd decreased 80 yen to 1,799 yen and fell 27% in the year and Hitachi Construction Machinery Co declined 5 yen to 1,296 yen and fell 33.4% in the year.

Softbank Corp closed down 8 yen at 2,267 yen and dropped 19.4% in the year, KDDI increased 0.3% to 495,000 yen and added 5.5% in the year and NTT DoCoMo, Inc rose 1,500 yen to 141,500 yen and fell 0.2% in the year.