Persistent Higher Yen Worries Tokyo Investors; Nikkei Down 0.8%

Nigel Thomas
05 Jan, 2012
New York City

Stocks in Tokyo trading declined on the fresh worries related to the euro zone and the growing consensus that the yen may remain strong against the euro and dollar in 2012. Steelmakers declined and TonenGeneral extended losses for the second day.

[R]8:00 PM Tokyo – Stocks in Tokyo trading declined on the fresh worries related to the euro zone and the growing consensus that the yen may remain strong against the euro and dollar in 2012. Steelmakers declined and TonenGeneral extended losses for the second day.[/R]

Stocks in Tokyo edged lower after rallying on the first trading day in 2012 on the fresh worries about the debt crisis in the euro zone and likelihood of stronger yen against the euro and dollar for the rest of the year.

The Nikkei 225 Stock Average fell 0.8% to 8,488.71 and the broader Topix index decreased 0.9% to 736.28.

Steelmakers were on the decline after a report in the Nikkei newspaper suggested that Toyota is likely to ask steel companies to lower price of steel by 5,000 yen a ton.

Stock Movers

Toyota Motor closed unchanged at 2,644 yen and Honda Motor Co. closed up 10 yen to 2,453 yen and Nissan Motor Co Ltd decreased 8 yen to 691 yen. Suzuki Motor Corp decreased 21 yen to 1,606 yen after the company introduced new models at an auto show in New Delhi.

Nippon Steel declined 4 yen to 191 yen after the company said it plans to book looses of 84.6 billion yen in the quarter to December. JFE Holdings declined 2.2% to 1,387 yen on the worries that steel prices may decline.

Sony Corp decreased 31 yen to 1,373 yen, Panasonic Corp fell 9 yen at 656 yen and Canon Inc closed down 40 yen to 3,390 yen.

Nintendo Co. Ltd decreased 230 yen to 10,730 yen and Nexon Co Ltd fell 1 yen to 1,152 yen.

Olympus Corp increased 43 yen to 1,031 yen and former chief executive Michael Woodruff returned to Tokyo conduct a proxy fight to regain his job at the company. Nikon Corp fell 18 yen to 1,733 yen.

Fanuc Ltd closed down 150 yen to 11,880 yen and Kyocera fell 80 yen at 6,200 yen. Casio Computer Co., Ltd decreased 7 yen to 448 yen.

Elpida Memory Inc fell 28 yen to 350 yen and Ulvac, Inc fell 7 yen to 975 yen.

Elpida soared 6% after Taiwan based DigiTimes said that the company is in talks to merge with Toshiba encouraged by Japanese bureaucrats to withstand competition from Korean makers. Toshiba denied the reports and DigiTimes did not cite any sources.

Mitsui O.S.K. Lines, Ltd decreased 8 yen to 296 yen, Kawasaki Kisen Kaisha, Ltd closed down 2 yen to 140 yen and Nippon Yusen K.K. decreased 3 yen to 198 yen.

Fast Retailing Co. increased 80 yen to 13,800 yen and J. Front Retailing Co. Ltd fell 4 yen to 369 yen. Point Inc declined 115 yen or 3.5% to 3,150 yen after the apparel retailer reported same store sales declined 0.4% in December.

Ms&Ad Insurance Group Holdings, Inc fell 21 yen to 1,458 yen and NKSJ Holdings Inc decreased 19 yen to 1,524 yen.

Mitsubishi UFJ Financial Group fell 19 yen to 1,524 yen and Sumitomo Mitsui Financial Group decreased 15 yen to 2,209 yen.

Komatsu Ltd increased 4 yen to 1,863 yen on the expectations that higher domestic demand to rebuild earthquake stricken region will drive demand higher.

Hitachi Construction Machinery Co decreased 9 yen to 1,296 yen and Toyo Engineering Corp decreased 2 yen to 284 yen.

TonenGeneral Seikyu K.K. declined 7% or 57 yen to 735 yen after the company is looking to buy back 30% stake from its parent ExxonMobil at 200 billion yen according to several local media reports.

Softbank Corp closed down 30 yen at 2,314 yen, KDDI decreased 0.8% to 502,000 yen and NTT DoCoMo, Inc fell 1,000 yen to 142,500 yen.