Stocks in Tokyo Ease; Hon Hai to Invest $806 Million in Sharp

Nigel Thomas
28 Mar, 2012
New York City

The benchmark index in Tokyo traded lower as most stocks trade ex-dividend. Railroad and bus operator Tokyu Corp after it estimated lower than expected operating earnings. Chemical maker Nippon Kayaku Corp declined after nine-month operating net fell 14%.

[R]8:30 PM Tokyo – The benchmark index in Tokyo traded lower as most stocks trade ex-dividend. Railroad and bus operator Tokyu Corp after it estimated lower than expected operating earnings. Chemical maker Nippon Kayaku Corp declined after nine-month operating net fell 14%. Sharp soared on a deal with Hon Hai.[/R]

Stocks in Japan ended lower a day after most stocks traded ex-dividend. However, traders saw increased number of orders from domestic and foreign investors on the first day after as most investors’ ploughed back dividend in stocks.

The Nikkei 225 Stock Average decreased 72.58 to close at 10,182.57 and the broader Topix index fell 7.99 to 864.43. The indexes edged down after rising 2.4% yesterday, its largest one-day gain in six months.

The dollar rose to 82.95 yen and traded at a new 2-week high and the euro gained to 109.32 yen from its close on Friday at 108.48.

Stock Movers

Sharp soared 16% to 570 yen after it agreed to sell a stake in the company to Taiwan based Hon Hai and its founder Terry Gou for 133 billion yen or $806 million.

Hon Hai hopes to leverage advanced TV technology with its manufacturing to build the next generation of video products. Hon Hai Precision Industry trades as Foxconn Technology.

Toyota Motor closed up 35 yen to 3,635 yen and Honda Motor Co. decreased 25 yen to 3,245 yen and Nissan Motor Co Ltd fell 1 yen to 893 yen.

Tokyu Corp declined 1.4% to 398 yen after the rail and bus operator estimated operating profit for fiscal 2014 at 55 billion yen or $664 million.

Sony Corp increased 31 yen to 1,773 yen, Panasonic Corp closed up 9 yen at 782 yen and Canon Inc closed down 25 yen to 3,990 yen. Nintendo Co. Ltd increased 40 yen to 12,780 yen.

Olympus Corp gained 27 yen to 1,331 yen, Nikon increased 12 yen to 2,533 yen and Fanuc Ltd closed down 120 yen to 15,390 yen. Hitachi Ltd increased 2.2% to 541 yen.

Komatsu Ltd fell 3 yen to 2,411 yen, Hitachi Construction Machinery Co increased 20 yen to 1,905 yen and Toyo Engineering Corp closed up 2 yen at 396 yen.

Mitsui O.S.K. Lines, Ltd fell 4 yen to 365 yen, Kawasaki Kisen Kaisha, Ltd closed unchanged to 176 yen and Nippon Yusen K.K. fell 3 yen to 262 yen.

Fast Retailing Co. dropped 110 yen to 18,350 yen and J. Front Retailing Co. Ltd closed up 2 yen to 453 yen.

Nippon Kayaku Co. declined 3% after the chemical maker said operating profit for nine months ending in Feb declined 14% from a year ago on slower growth in sales.

Mitsubishi UFJ Financial Group decreased 12 yen to 430 yen and Sumitomo Mitsui Financial Group decreased 63 yen to 2,815 yen. Nomura Holdings, Inc fell 2 yen to 379 yen.

Tokyo Tatemono Co., Ltd fell 2 yen to 337 yen and Mitsui Fudosan decreased 5 yen to 1,600 yen and Sumitomo Realty & Development Co. decreased 20 yen to 2,005 yen.

Nippon Steel unchanged at 234 yen and JFE Holdings Inc decreased 0.8% or 15 yen to 1,831 yen.