Nikkei Declined 1.4%; Machinery Orders Surge 14.8%

Nigel Thomas
16 Jan, 2012
New York City

Stocks in Tokyo retreated and the Nikkei index declined 1.4%. Machinery orders in November increased 14.8% and beat the expectations of most economists. The yen traded at an 11-year high against the euro.

[R]7:00 PM Tokyo – Stocks in Tokyo retreated and the Nikkei index declined 1.4%. Machinery orders in November increased 14.8% and beat the expectations of most economists. The yen traded at an 11-year high against the euro.[/R]

Stocks in Japan gave up the gains of Friday on the rising worries in the euro zone and growing tensions in the Middle East. The yen strengthened against the euro for the second day in a row and machinery orders surged in November.

Machinery orders soared 14.8% in November from previous month according to the latest data released by the Cabinet Office.

The Nikkei 225 Stock Average fell 1.4% to 8,378.36 and the broader Topix index decreased 1.3% to 725.24.

The yen closed near 11-year high against the euro at 97.04.

The euro zone nations were in focus after Standard & Poor’s lowered its opinion nine nations and downgraded Austria and France from its highest rating.

In addition, Greece was in focus after talks stalled last week after the struggling nation demanded more than 50% reduction in payment to private bond holders. The talks are expected to resume midweek as three international lenders return to Athens for talks.

Stock Movers

Toyota Motor closed down 40 yen to 2,597 yen and Honda Motor Co. fell 5 yen at 2,548 yen and Nissan Motor Co Ltd increased 3 yen to 689 yen. Suzuki Motor Corp fell 24 yen to 1,590 yen.

Sony Corp decreased 30 yen to 1,297 yen, Panasonic Corp fell 13 yen at 616 yen and Canon Inc closed down 76 yen to 3,280 yen.

Nintendo Co. Ltd increased 20 yen to 10,360 yen and Nexon Co Ltd rose 1 yen to 1,199 yen.

Olympus Corp decreased 55 yen to 1,181 yen and Toshiba Corp was rumored to consider taking an equity stake in the company.

Nikon Corp fell 22 yen to 1,689 yen, Fanuc Ltd closed down 50 yen to 11,600 yen and Kyocera fell 120 yen to 6,100 yen. Casio Computer Co., Ltd decreased 2 yen to 440 yen.

Elpida Memory Inc fell 10 yen to 301 yen, Ulvac, Inc declined 39 yen to 953 yen and Renesas Electronics Corp decreased 9 yen to 434 yen.

Mitsui O.S.K. Lines, Ltd decreased 10 yen to 247 yen, Kawasaki Kisen Kaisha, Ltd closed declined 5 yen to 126 yen and Nippon Yusen K.K. increased 5 yen to 175 yen.

Tokyo Electric Power Company, Inc decreased 4 yen to 205 yen.

Fast Retailing Co. decreased 160 yen to 14,610 yen and J. Front Retailing Co. Ltd fell 13 yen to 356 yen.

Ms&Ad Insurance Group Holdings, Inc closed down 45 yen to 1,411 yen and NKSJ Holdings Inc decreased 62 yen to 1,462 yen.

Mitsubishi UFJ Financial Group declined 9 yen to 325 yen and Sumitomo Mitsui Financial Group decreased 49 yen to 2,194 yen.

Inpex Corp fell 2.3% to 504,000 yen and Japan Petroleum declined 10 yen to 3,085 yen after oil prices edged lower in international trading despite the rising tensions in the Middle East.

Hitachi Construction Machinery Co decreased 14 yen to 1,357 yen and Toyo Engineering Corp increased 9 yen to 306 yen.

Softbank Corp closed down 45 yen at 2,123 yen, KDDI decreased 3.2% to 483,000 yen and NTT DoCoMo, Inc closed down 1.4% to 138,900 yen.