Nikkei Flat in Tokyo; Olympus Jumps 8%

Nigel Thomas
23 Jan, 2012
New York City

Stocks in Japan traded flat and construction companies were in focus for the second day in a row. Olympus gained 8% after Tokyo Stock Exchange approved its listing with a management review. Sony gained on the hopes of it taking a stake in Olympus.

[R]8:30 PM Tokyo – Stocks in Japan traded flat and construction companies were in focus for the second day in a row. Olympus gained 8% after Tokyo Stock Exchange approved its listing with a management review. Sony gained on the hopes of it taking a stake in Olympus.[/R]

Stocks in Tokyo traded flat ahead of meeting of finance ministers in the euro zone. Talks between Greek government and international lenders are expected to be tense as Greece is looking for a reduction of 70% payment to private lenders.

Markets in Hong Kong, Shanghai and Taipei were closed to celebrate Chinese New Year.

The Nikkei 225 Stock Average fell 0.46 to 8,765.90 and the broader Topix index increased 0.2% to 756.79.

The euro declined to 98.92 yen in Tokyo trading compared to 100.01 yen on Friday’s close.

Stock Movers

Toyota Motor decreased 9 yen to 2,720 yen and Honda Motor Co. added 15 yen at 2,673 yen and Nissan Motor Co Ltd decreased 4 yen to 717 yen. Suzuki Motor Corp fell 24 yen to 1,645 yen.

Sony Corp increased 55 yen to 1,422 yen, Panasonic Corp fell 9 yen at 644 yen and Canon Inc closed down 40 yen to 3,390 yen. Nintendo Co. Ltd decreased 70 yen to 10,640 yen.

Panasonic was also in focus after Moody’s Investor Services lowered its rating on the company and cited stronger yen and costs of consolidating its two subsidiaries.

Sony was reported to be a front runner in acquiring a stake in the troubled Olympus Corp.

Olympus Corp closed up 98 yen or 8.2% at 1,297 yen after the Tokyo Stock Exchange granted its listing status but with a special provision for an annual management review and fined the company 10 million yen.

Nikon Corp added 8 yen to 1,802 yen, Fanuc Ltd closed down 100 yen to 12,950 yen and Kyocera fell 40 yen to 6,510 yen. Casio Computer Co., Ltd increased 8 yen to 467 yen. TDK Corp declined 55 yen or 1.5% to 3,590 yen.

Electronic chip equipment makers rose for the second day after Amsterdam based ASML N.V. reported rising sales in the current quarter.

Elpida Memory Inc added 6 yen to 351 yen, Ulvac, Inc added 41 yen to 1,099 yen and Renesas Electronics Corp decreased 3 yen to 507 yen.

Mitsui O.S.K. Lines, Ltd increased 2 yen to 275 yen, Kawasaki Kisen Kaisha, Ltd added 3 yen to 137 yen and Nippon Yusen K.K. increased 5 yen to 192 yen.

Kajima Corporation increased 2 yen to 261 yen and Obayashi Corp gained 5 yen to 371 yen. Tobishima Corp added 5.6% to 131 yen.

Japan Bridge dropped 5% to 794 yen and extended the losses for the second day after dropping 18% on Friday and surging 250% in the month.

Tokyo Electric Power Company, Inc decreased 4 yen to 213 yen.

Fast Retailing Co. increased 40 yen to 14,720 yen and J. Front Retailing Co. Ltd increased 5 yen to 377 yen.

Mitsubishi UFJ Financial Group added 5 yen to 355 yen and Sumitomo Mitsui Financial Group closed up 24 yen at 2,397 yen.

Hitachi Construction Machinery Co increased 119 yen to 1,48 yen and Toyo Engineering Corp was flat at 313 yen.

Softbank Corp closed up 68 yen at 2,239 yen, KDDI increased 0.3% to 482,500 yen and NTT DoCoMo, Inc closed up 0.9% to 138,000 yen.