Nikkei Rebound of 1% Halts 4-day Slide; Daiki, SMFG, Nidec, Nikon in Focus

Nigel Thomas
25 Apr, 2012
New York City

The Nikkei index in Tokyo gained after a 4-day slide after better than expected earnings in Japan and in U.S. contributed to positive market sentiment. Daiki Aluminum soared 5% and Sumitomo Mitsui Financial said it plans to acquire 24% stake in China based wealth manager China Post & Capital.

[R]8:30 PM Tokyo – The Nikkei index in Tokyo gained after a 4-day slide after better than expected earnings in Japan and in U.S. contributed to positive market sentiment. Daiki Aluminum soared 5% and Sumitomo Mitsui Financial said it plans to acquire 24% stake in China based wealth manager China Post & Capital.[/R]

Stocks in Tokyo trading halted a 4-day decline after earnings were ahead of expectations at several companies in Japan.

Also, better than expected earnings in the U.S. and Europe also supported positive sentiment but investors were cautious ahead of the release of statements from the central banks in the U.S. and in Japan.

The Nikkei 225 Stock Average increased 92.97 to 9,561.01 and the broader Topix index gained 5.55 to 809.49.

In trading, stock turnover decreased to 1,530.84 million shares from 1,532.78 million shares in Monday’s trading.

Stock Movers

Kansai Electric Power Company, Inc decreased 16 yen to 1,203 yen and Tokyo Electric Power unchanged to 199 yen.

Daiki Aluminum Industry Co gained 4.7% to 266 yen after it reported net income of 1.85 billion yen in the fiscal year to March, ahead of its estimate of 1.5 billion yen.

Toyota Motor closed up 20 yen to 3,280 yen and Honda Motor Co. fell 1 yen to 2,870 yen and Nissan Motor Co Ltd increased 9 yen to 840 yen.

Sony Corp decreased 7 yen to 1,323 yen and extended losses for the sixth day in a row after the recently appointed company chief laid out a new restructuring plan.

Panasonic Corp closed down 9 yen at 627 yen and Canon Inc surged 55 yen to 3,800 yen. Nintendo Co. Ltd gained 60 yen to 11,250 yen.

Nidec Corp fell 1.7% to 7,360 yen and said its fiscal year net income declined 22% on nearly flat sales and also said it plans to purchase rest of the stake in Nidec Sankyo Corp in which it holds 75% stake.

Olympus Corp closed up 18 yen to 1,258 yen, Nikon increased 13 yen to 2,349 yen and Fanuc Ltd surged 390 yen to 14,800 yen. Hitachi Ltd unchanged to 512 yen.

Nikon also recalled batteries made by Sony Corp used in digital cameras after it determined that they may overheat in certain conditions. Two companies are still negotiating to determine the split of the recall cost.

Komatsu Ltd declined 20 yen to 2,374 yen and Hitachi Construction Machinery Co advanced 14 yen to 1,821 yen.

Toyo Engineering Corp closed up 8 yen to 368 yen.

Mitsui O.S.K. Lines, Ltd added 1 yen to 315 yen, Kawasaki Kisen Kaisha, Ltd unchanged to 161 yen and Nippon Yusen K.K. closed down at 3 yen to 228 yen.

NTT DoCoMo Inc is expected to increase its operating profit by 3% in the fiscal year to March 2013 according to a report in the business daily Nikkei.

Fast Retailing Co. soared 210 yen to 18,060 yen and J. Front Retailing Co. Ltd increased 7 yen to 422 yen.

Fumakilla Ltd, the pesticide maker revised the loss in the fiscal year to March to 838 million yen from its earlier estimate of 630 million yen.

Mitsubishi UFJ Financial Group rose 4 yen to 387 yen and Sumitomo Mitsui Financial Group gained 15 yen to 2,588 yen. Nomura Holdings, Inc increased 8 yen to 344 yen.

Sumitomo Mitsui Financial Group said it plans to acquire 24% stake in China Post & Capital Fund Management Co. for about 10 billion yen as it enters the wealth management market in the nation.

Tokyo Tatemono Co., Ltd closed up 5 yen to 302 yen and Mitsui Fudosan advanced 25 yen to 1,493 yen and Sumitomo Realty & Development Co. soared 43 yen to 1,874 yen.

Nippon Steel edged up 1 yen to 201 yen and JFE Holdings Inc slumped 1% or 16 yen to 1,560 yen.

Yahoo Japan Corp’s chief financial officer said it ended its talk to sell the stake in the company to its U.S. parent.