Stocks in Tokyo Reverse Gains; Asahi Kasei Offers to Buy Zoll Medical

Nigel Thomas
12 Mar, 2012
New York City

Stocks in Tokyo reversed the earlier gains and closed lower. Asahi Kasei agreed to acquire Zoll Medical Corp for $2.2 billion. Hi-Lex Corp estimated lower than expected net income in the quarter ending in January.

[R]8:00 PM Tokyo – Stocks in Tokyo reversed the earlier gains and closed lower. Asahi Kasei agreed to acquire Zoll Medical Corp for $2.2 billion. Hi-Lex Corp estimated lower than expected net income in the quarter ending in January.[/R]

Stocks in Tokyo gained in the early trading following the release of machine orders and a rise in the U.S. employment however market trend reversed in the afternoon after China reported wider than expected trade deficit.

Machinery orders increased 3.4% in January after falling 7.1% in December according a report released by the Cabinet Office in Tokyo.

Central banks were also in focus after the Bank of Japan started its 2-day meeting in Tokyo today and the U.S. Federal Reserve is also set to start its 2-day meeting later today.

The Nikkei 225 Stock Average fell 0.4% to close at 9,889.86 and the broader Topix index decreased 0.4% to 845.28.

The dollar traded at 82.34 yen and rose above a 9-month high of 81.66 yen and traded as high as 82.65 yen.

China's trade deficit widened to $31.48 billion in February, the highest since 1989 as weak global demand dampened exports in February, while imports surged after the New Year holiday, data published by the General Administration of Customs showed on Saturday.

Imports surged 39.6% to $145.9 billion and exports increased 18.4% from a year ago to $114.5 billion in February. China posted its largest deficit in at least 20 years.

Stock Movers

Asahi Kasei Corporation increased 1 yen to 518 yen and the company made an offer to acquire medical devices maker Zoll Medical Corp 100 billion yen or $2.2 billion.

Toyota Motor closed down 14 yen at 3,405 yen and Honda Motor Co. decreased 20 yen to 3,100 yen and Nissan Motor Co Ltd increased 7 yen to 843 yen.

Sony Corp decreased 3 yen to 1,715 yen, Panasonic Corp increased 5 yen to 740 yen and Canon Inc closed down 55 yen to 3,705 yen. Nintendo Co. Ltd decreased 150 yen to 11,540 yen.

Olympus Corp decreased 20 yen to 1,297 yen, Nikon gained 81 yen to 2,350 yen and Fanuc Ltd decreased 80 yen to 14,640 yen.

Hi-Lex Corp decreased 1.5% to 1,404 yen after the control cables maker said net income in the three months to December dropped 18% from a year ago to 1.52 billion yen.

Mitsui O.S.K. Lines, Ltd decreased 6 yen to 355 yen, Kawasaki Kisen Kaisha, Ltd closed down 2 yen to 175 yen and Nippon Yusen K.K. fell 3 yen to 240 yen.

Fast Retailing Co. decreased 80 yen to 17,580 yen and J. Front Retailing Co. Ltd closed down 1 yen to 429 yen.

Mitsubishi UFJ Financial Group decreased 6 yen to 419 yen and Sumitomo Mitsui Financial Group decreased 21 yen to 2,763 yen. Nomura Holdings, Inc fell 1 yen to 384 yen.

Real estate companies gained after a broker Miki Shoji Co. said Tokyo office vacancy rate fell to 9.15% in February from 9.23% in January.

Tokyo Tatemono Co., Ltd rose 1 yen to 339 yen and Mitsui Fudosan fell 2 yen to 1,577 yen and Sumitomo Realty & Development Co. decreased 17 yen to 1,957 yen.

Komatsu Ltd decreased 43 yen to 2,320 yen, Hitachi Construction Machinery Co increased 3 yen to 1,781 yen and Toyo Engineering Corp closed down 2 yen at 357 yen.

Steel makers traded higher. Nippon Steel fell 0.4% to 232 yen and JFE Holdings Inc decreased 0.2% or 4 yen to 1,683 yen.

Japan Bridge Corporation dropped 7.8% to 409 yen and Miyaji Engineering Group Inc decreased 2.3% to 170 yen and highway contractor Tekken Corp decreased 3.5% to 135 yen.

Kuraya Co gained 0.8% to 1,210 yen after the company is expected to increase its operating profit to 60 billion yen for the fiscal year ending in March. The news was first reported by Nikkei newspaper.

Softbank Corp increased 4 yen to 2,387 yen, KDDI Corp closed down 0.1% to 532,000 yen and NTT DoCoMo, Inc unchanged to 141,300 yen.