Nikkei in Tokyo Sideways; Nissan, Daikin, Nippon Paper in Focus

Nigel Thomas
09 Feb, 2012
New York City

Japanese stock indexes were nearly unchanged and foreign investors added to stocks for the sixth week in a row. Nissan Motor Co said quarterly operating profit increased 3.6%. Daikin Industries Ltd lowered its annual income outlook.

[R]8:30 PM Tokyo – Japanese stock indexes were nearly unchanged and foreign investors added to stocks for the sixth week in a row. Nissan Motor Co said quarterly operating profit increased 3.6%. Daikin Industries Ltd lowered its annual income outlook.[/R]

Stocks traded sideways in Tokyo trading and foreign investors increased net purchases of Japanese equities for the sixth week in a row. China linked stocks were under mild pressure after inflation surged to the fastest pace in January.

The Nikkei 225 Stock Average fell 0.2% to 9,002.24 and the broader Topix index increased 0.2% to 784.49.

In trading, 2.67 billion shares changed hands, the new high for the year compared to 2.48 billion shares in yesterday’s trading.

Foreign investors were active in adding more to their holdings of Japanese stocks.

According to the latest data released from the Ministry of Finance, foreign investors added 64.3 billion yen of Japanese stocks in the last week, sixth weekly net addition in a row. In the week before, investors added 38.7 billion yen.

China’s statistics agency reported consumer price inflation surged to 4.5% in January, the fastest pace since June of last year as food prices soared 10% as demand rose during the Lunar New Year.

Stock Movers

Toyota Motor decreased 5 yen to 3,130 yen and Honda Motor Co. fell 16 yen to 2,822 yen and Nissan Motor Co Ltd decreased 8 yen to 766 yen.

Sony Corp increased 2 yen to 1,544 yen, Panasonic Corp fell 2 yen to 655 yen and Canon Inc closed up 15 yen to 3,460 yen. Nintendo Co. Ltd closed up 220 yen at 10,920 yen.

Olympus Corp rose 16 yen at 1,277 yen and Fujifilm Holdings Corp closed down 20 yen at 1,841 yen.

Daikin Industries Ltd decreased 2.1% to 2,171 yen after it lowered its annual net income forecast by 21.7% to 36 billion yen.

Nikon increased 2 yen 2,064 yen, Fanuc Ltd fell 30 yen to 13,070 yen and Kyocera rose 40 yen at 6,640 yen.

Mitsui O.S.K. Lines, Ltd closed unchanged at 335 yen, Kawasaki Kisen Kaisha, Ltd closed up 4 yen to 166 yen and Nippon Yusen K.K. closed up 3 yen to 226 yen.

The Tokyo Electric Power Company, Inc decreased 1 yen to 195 yen.

Nippon Paper increased 5% to 1,766 yen after the paper maker said quarterly profit jumped more than 39%. Mitsubishi Paper Mills Ltd added 11% and Hokuetsu Kishu Paper Co advanced 4%.

Fast Retailing Co. increased 290 yen to 15,710 yen and J. Front Retailing Co. Ltd closed unchanged at 374 yen.

Mitsubishi UFJ Financial Group increased 6 yen to 396 yen and Sumitomo Mitsui Financial Group closed up 24 yen at 2,606 yen.

Komatsu Ltd decreased 16 yen to 2,174 yen, Hitachi Construction Machinery Co decreased 21 yen to 1,507 yen and Toyo Engineering Corp fell 1 yen to 336 yen.

Softbank Corp closed up 7 yen at 2,220 yen, KDDI Corp closed down 0.5% to 486,500 yen and NTT DoCoMo, Inc closed down 800 yen to 136,200 yen.