Nikkei Gains on First Day of New Finanical Year

Nigel Thomas
02 Apr, 2012
New York City

Stocks on the first day of a new financial year gained after investors shifted focus to opportunities linked to Japan reconstruction. The latest survey of big manufacturers showed no change in sentiment in the first quarter but automakers said sentiment improved for the third month in a row.

[R]8:30 PM Tokyo – Stocks on the first day of a new financial year in Japan gained after investors shifted focus to opportunities linked to Japan reconstruction. The latest survey of big manufacturers showed no change in sentiment in the first quarter but automakers said sentiment improved for the third month in a row.[/R]

Stocks in Tokyo traded higher on the first day of a new financial year as investors shift focus on earnings releases later in the month and look for opportunities linked to Japan reconstruction.

The Nikkei 225 Stock Average increased 26.31 to close at 10,109.87 and the broader Topix index rose 1.70 to 856.05.

The dollar rose to 83.03 yen after trading at a 3-week low of 81.82 on Friday and the euro gained to 109.32 yen from its close on Friday at 108.48.

In trading, 2.16 billion shares traded following 1.89 billion in Friday’s trading and close to the weekly average of 1.98 billion shares last week.

The latest survey of large manufacturers conducted by the Bank of Japan indicated no improvement in the sentiment in the first quarter. The Tankan survey indicated business sentiment was at -4 in the quarter.

The cautious outlook in the survey prompted investors to question the bullishness in the market and raised prospects of lower than expected earnings at large companies.

Stock Movers

Automakers traded higher after the Bank of Japan survey of manufacturers showed strength in the auto sector. The sentiment index for large automakers increased for the third month in a row as supply chain worries linked to Thai floods eased.

Toyota Motor closed down 5 yen to 3,565 yen and Honda Motor Co. gained 65 yen to 3,210 yen and Nissan Motor Co Ltd increased 17 yen to 898 yen.

Tokyu Corp decreased 2% to 385 yen.

Sony Corp increased 13 yen to 1,717 yen, Panasonic Corp closed up 7 yen at 768 yen and Canon Inc closed up 80 yen to 3,990 yen. Nintendo Co. Ltd increased 110 yen to 12,570 yen.

Olympus Corp dropped 51 yen to 1,303 yen, Nikon gained 27 yen to 2,539 yen and Fanuc Ltd closed up 290 yen to 14,970 yen. Hitachi Ltd soared 3.5% to 550 yen.

Komatsu Ltd increased 28 yen to 2,387 yen, Hitachi Construction Machinery Co increased 49 yen to 1,880 yen and Toyo Engineering Corp closed down 7 yen at 387 yen.

NGK Insulators Ltd declined 9% to 1,077 yen after the company said it is struggling to meet its supply schedule to deliver power storage batteries to Tohoku Electric Power Co this summer.

Mitsui O.S.K. Lines, Ltd increased 9 yen to 369 yen, Kawasaki Kisen Kaisha, Ltd closed up 11 yen to 193 yen and Nippon Yusen K.K. increased 8 cents to 268 yen.

Fast Retailing Co. soared 170 yen to 19,030 yen and J. Front Retailing Co. Ltd closed down 6 yen to 456 yen.

Mitsubishi UFJ Financial Group increased 14 yen to 426 yen and Sumitomo Mitsui Financial Group soared 47 yen to 2,770 yen. Nomura Holdings, Inc increased 9 yen to 375 yen.

Tokyo Tatemono Co., Ltd fell 1 yen to 334 yen and Mitsui Fudosan increased 12 yen to 1,595 yen and Sumitomo Realty & Development Co. increased 7 yen to 2,002 yen.

Nippon Steel fell 4 yen at 223 yen and JFE Holdings Inc gained 0.4% or 8 yen to 1,786 yen.