Nikkei Extends Losses; Miyaji, Japan Bridge Soar

Nigel Thomas
06 Mar, 2012
New York City

The benchmark Nikkei 225 index declined for the second day in a row. The makers of steel and machinery and shipping companies declined after China shifted its focus on consumption from domestic investment. Bridge makers soared.

[R]8:30 PM Tokyo – The benchmark Nikkei 225 index declined for the second day in a row. The makers of steel and machinery and shipping companies declined after China shifted its focus on consumption from domestic investment. Bridge makers soared.[/R]

Stocks in Japan declined for the second day in a row after global worries overwhelmed the weakness in the yen. Automakers, banks and financial services, electronics exporters and machinery makers were among the leading decliners.

The Nikkei 225 Stock Average fell 0.6% to close at 9,637.63 and the broader Topix index decreased 0.7% to 827.35.

The dollar traded at 81.34 yen and flirted with a 9-month high of 81.66 yen and gained against the euro to 107.33.

Stock Movers

Toyota Motor closed down 20 yen at 3,285 yen and Honda Motor Co. closed down 59 yen to 2,991 yen and Nissan Motor Co Ltd decreased 11 yen to 799 yen.

Sony Corp decreased 13 yen to 1,678 yen, Panasonic Corp fell 15 yen to 711 yen and Canon Inc closed down 50 yen to 3,675 yen. Nintendo Co. Ltd declined 170 yen to 11,320 yen.

Olympus Corp increased 44 yen to 1,300 yen, Nikon gained 27 yen to 2,162 yen and Fanuc Ltd decreased 370 yen to 14,330 yen.

The makers of construction machinery and steel and shipping companies declined after China signaled a shift from export and investment phase to domestic consumption driven economic growth.

Mitsui O.S.K. Lines, Ltd declined 10 yen to 352 yen, Kawasaki Kisen Kaisha, Ltd closed down 7 yen to 176 yen and Nippon Yusen K.K. fell 6 yen to 233 yen.

Fast Retailing Co. decreased 60 yen to 17,020 yen and J. Front Retailing Co. Ltd closed unchanged at 420 yen.

Mitsubishi UFJ Financial Group declined 5 yen to 408 yen and Sumitomo Mitsui Financial Group decreased 25 yen to 2,689 yen. Nomura Holdings, Inc fell 5 yen to 368 yen.

Komatsu Ltd decreased 53 yen to 2,296 yen, Hitachi Construction Machinery Co decreased 48 yen to 1,659 yen and Toyo Engineering Corp closed unchanged at 349 yen.

Bridge and infrastructure developers soared after the expert panel set up by Tokyo Metropolitan Expressway Co Ltd held its first meeting to upgrade highways and bridges in Tokyo metropolitan area.

Japan Bridge Corporation soared 22% to 442 yen and Miyaji Engineering Group Inc soared 24.8% to 201 yen.

Softbank Corp fell 48 yen to 2,384 yen, KDDI Corp closed up 1.7% to 536,000 yen and NTT DoCoMo, Inc closed up 500 yen to 142,000 yen.