Nikkei Rebounds on Tech Stocks, Yen Firms

Marcus Jacob
19 Jul, 2012
New York City

Stocks in Japan closed higher in thin trading and the yen gained for the second day in a row against the dollar and the euro. Advantest and Tokyo Electron jumped after Intel lowered sales outlook below expectations.

[R]7:00 PM Tokyo – Stocks in Japan closed higher in thin trading and the yen gained for the second day in a row against the dollar and the euro. Advantest and Tokyo Electron jumped after Intel lowered sales outlook below expectations.[/R]

A rally in technology stocks lifted broader averages but trading volume remained weak.

Market sentiment was on the downside after Fed Chairman Bernanke repeated his comments for the second day and a report from the IMF warned downside risks in the euro zone.

The Nikkei 225 Stock Average advanced 68.81 or 0.8% to 8,795.55 and the broader Topix index gained 6.67 or 0.9% to 747.13 and halted its nine days of decline in a row, longest in nearly three years.

The yen edged up to 78.55 against one dollar and closed up 0.3% to 96.47 for one euro. The yen gained against the euro for the second day in a row on the worries that Spain may need a larger bailout.

Stock Movers

Toyota Motor gained 21 yen to 3,020 yen, Honda Motor Co. advanced 41 yen to 2,516 yen and Nissan Motor Co Ltd increased 15 yen to 728 yen.

Canon Inc rose 0.8% to 2,920 yen. , Seiko Epson Corp increased 2.5% to 621 yen and Ricoh Co Ltd gained 2.1% to 575 yen.

Sony Corp added 15 yen to 980 yen and Panasonic Corp rose 1 yen to 542 yen. Toshiba gained 3 cents to 282 yen. Olympus Corp fell 1 yen to 1,439 yen and Nikon increased 37 yen to 2,264 yen.

Fanuc Ltd closed up 220 yen at 12,760 yen, Komatsu Ltd advanced 55 yen to 1,744 yen and Hitachi Construction Machinery Co gained 38 yen to 1,372 yen.

Yamada Denki surged 8.3% to 3,545 yen. Nitori Holdings Co closed up 0.7% to 7,650 yen, apparel retailer Shimamura fell 0.7% to 9,400 yen and Sagami Co unchnaged to 106 yen.

Marushohotta Co rose 1 yen to 46 yen and Edion Corp gained 2.5% to 366 yen.

Fast Retailing Co. dropped 100 yen to 15,900 yen and J. Front Retailing Co. Ltd increased 6 yen to 420 yen.

Kajima Corp fell 2 yen to 227 yen and Taisei Corp slid 3 yen to 218 yen. Sekisui House Ltd edged down 0.1% to 769 yen and Daito Trust Construction Co Ltd rose 0.3% to 7,770 yen.

Tokyo Tatemono Co., Ltd fell 2 yen to 284 yen and Mitsui Fudosan slipped 17 yen to 1,502 yen and Sumitomo Realty & Development Co. increased 7 yen to 1,914 yen.

Kansai Electric Power Company, Inc decreased 8 yen to 750 yen and Tokyo Electric Power increased 6 yen to 132 yen.

Inpex Corp gained 2.4% to 445,000 yen and Japan Petroleum Exploration Co. advanced 105 yen to 3,015 yen.

Mitsui O.S.K. Lines, Ltd rose 5 yen to 242 yen; Kawasaki Kisen Kaisha, Ltd added 3 yen to 118 yen and Nippon Yusen K.K. closed up 5 yen at 184 yen.

Mitsubishi UFJ Financial Group gained 8 yen to 381 yen and Sumitomo Mitsui Financial Group increased 22 yen to 2,516 yen. Nomura Holdings, Inc rose 3 yen to 269 yen.

Credit Saison Co Ltd declined 12 yen to 1,762 yen.

Nippon Steel rose 2 yen to 160 yen and JFE Holdings Inc gained 6 yen to 1,093 yen.