Weaker Yen Drives Japanese Stocks; Tokyo Dome Rises 8%

Nigel Thomas
27 Feb, 2012
New York City

The yen continued its steady slide against the dollar and stocks closed lower in a choppy trading. J. Front Retailing agreed to acquire a stake in rival retailer Parcos. Tokyo Dome gained 8% after it estimated fiscal year profit.

[R]8:30 PM Tokyo – The yen continued its steady slide against the dollar and stocks closed lower in a choppy trading. J. Front Retailing agreed to acquire a stake in rival retailer Parcos. Tokyo Dome gained 8% after it estimated fiscal year profit.[/R]

Japanese stocks trimmed gains after struggling to advance in a volatile session. The steady decline in the yen lifted the sentiment at the opening but market caution prevailed after G20 leaders demanded larger rescue fund in the euro zone to prevent the debt crisis from spreading.

G20 finance ministers also worried that rising crude oil prices will stoke worldwide inflation especially in the emerging economies.

The Nikkei 225 Stock Average fell 0.1% to 9,633.93 and the broader Topix index added 0.1% to 835.25.

The yen dropped to a 10-month low to 81.67 against a dollar.

Stock Movers

Toyota Motor closed unchanged at 3,380 yen and Honda Motor Co. rose 50 yen to 3,140 yen and Nissan Motor Co Ltd increased 8 yen to 837 yen.

Sony Corp increased 20 yen to 1,760 yen, Panasonic Corp gained 10 yen to 751 yen and Canon Inc closed up 65 yen to 3,680 yen. Nintendo Co. Ltd rose 160 yen to 12,650 yen.

Sony also said at the largest mobile industry gathering in Spain that it plans to return to smartphone business under its own brand but the transition may be slower than expected.

Olympus Corp decreased 47 yen to 1,373 yen, Nikon decreased 37 yen to 2,141 yen, Fanuc Ltd fell 220 yen to 14,320 yen and Kyocera declined 40 yen at 6,900 yen.

Mitsui O.S.K. Lines, Ltd closed down 6 yen to 378 yen, Kawasaki Kisen Kaisha, Ltd closed down 2 yen at 181 yen and Nippon Yusen K.K. fell 2 yen to 248 yen.

Tokyo Dome Corp increased 8 yen to 226 yen after the operator of hotels and stadiums estimated net income in the year ending in January of 300 million yen compared to its previous estimate of a loss.

Fast Retailing Co. fell 300 yen to 16,380 yen and J. Front Retailing Co. Ltd closed down 5 yen to 392 yen after the retailer agreed to pay 30.1 billion yen and acquire a stake in Parco Co., Ltd.

Mitsubishi UFJ Financial Group increased 4 yen to 420 yen and Sumitomo Mitsui Financial Group added 1 yen at 2,756 yen. Nomura Holdings, Inc decreased 4 yen to 378 yen.

Komatsu Ltd decreased 14 yen to 2,425 yen, Hitachi Construction Machinery Co decreased 8 yen to 1,703 yen and Toyo Engineering Corp closed up 9 yen at 357 yen.

Softbank Corp fell 62 yen at 2,359 yen and the telecom operator plans to hire 2,400 graduates and mid-level staff according to a report by the business daily Nikkei.

KDDI Corp closed up 0.4% to 507,000 yen and NTT DoCoMo, Inc closed up 400 yen to 137,800 yen.