Weakness in Financials, Insurance Sectors Drag Nikkei Lower 1.4%

Nigel Thomas
20 Jul, 2012
New York City

Stocks in Tokyo dropped on Friday and the Nikkei index closed down 3.9% in the week. Insurance and financial services stocks declined after weak economic data from the U.S. Toshiba gained but Yamato Holdings declined.

[R]7:00 PM Tokyo – Stocks in Tokyo dropped on Friday and the Nikkei index closed down 3.9% in the week. Insurance and financial services stocks declined after weak economic data from the U.S. Toshiba gained but Yamato Holdings declined.[/R]

Tokyo markets closed lower after weak economic data from the U.S. added to the worries linked to the euro zone.

The latest data from the U.S. suggested weak housing market and Philadelphia region manufacturing activities declined for the third month in a row.

The Nikkei 225 Stock Average declined 125.68 or 1.4% to 8,669.87 and the broader Topix index slumped 13.31 or 1.8% to 733.82. Insurance stocks were among the leading decliners after rising for three days in a row.

For the week, the Nikkei dropped 3.9%.

Foreign investors were net sellers of Japanese stocks for the third week last week and sold 133.9 billion yen or $1.70 billion, according to the latest data from the Ministry of Japan.

Stock Movers

Toyota Motor dropped 53 yen to 2,967 yen, Honda Motor Co. slumped 29 yen to 2,487 yen and Nissan Motor Co Ltd fell 1 yen to 727 yen.

Yaskawa Electric Corp gained more than 8% after it reported first quarter operating profit ahead of expectations and lifted the first half outlook by 50% to 4.5 billion yen.

Canon Inc slipped 1.6% to 2,874 yen. , Seiko Epson Corp decreased 2.6% to 605 yen and Ricoh Co Ltd slid 1% to 569 yen.

Sony Corp dropped 22 yen to 958 yen and Panasonic Corp slumped 19 yen to 523 yen. Toshiba gained 3 yen to 285 yen. Olympus Corp declined 53 yen to 1,386 yen and Nikon gained 10 yen to 2,274 yen.

Toshiba rose as much as 4% earlier in trading after its chipmaker partner SanDisk Corp reported better than expected earnings on a rebound in demand from international clients.

Fanuc Ltd closed down 270 yen at 12,490 yen, Komatsu Ltd declined 32 yen to 1,712 yen and Hitachi Construction Machinery Co slumped 29 yen to 1,343 yen.

Yamada Denki fell 0.8% to 3,815 yen. Nitori Holdings Co closed down 1% to 7,570 yen, apparel retailer Shimamura slid 0.9% to 9,310 yen and Sagami Co slipped 4 yen to 102 yen.

Marushohotta Co down 1 yen to 45 yen and Edion Corp fell 1% to 362 yen.

Fast Retailing Co. gained 190 yen to 16,090 yen and J. Front Retailing Co. Ltd slipped 14 yen to 406 yen.

Kajima Corp slid 5 yen to 222 yen and Taisei Corp fell 3 yen to 215 yen. Sekisui House Ltd slipped 1.7% to 756 yen and Daito Trust Construction Co Ltd dropped 1.4% to 7,660 yen.

Tokyo Tatemono Co., Ltd fell 11 yen to 273 yen and Mitsui Fudosan plummeted 36 yen to 1,466 yen and Sumitomo Realty & Development Co. declined 33 yen to 1,881 yen.

Kansai Electric Power Company, Inc plunged 42 yen or 5.6% to 708 yen and Tokyo Electric Power fell 2 yen to 130 yen.

Inpex Corp gained 1.3% to 451,000 yen and Japan Petroleum Exploration Co. added 5 yen to 3,020 yen.

Mitsui O.S.K. Lines, Ltd slipped 7 yen to 235 yen; Kawasaki Kisen Kaisha, Ltd slid 6 yen to 112 yen and Nippon Yusen K.K. closed down 6 yen at 178 yen.

Mitsubishi UFJ Financial Group decreased 13 yen to 368 yen and Sumitomo Mitsui Financial Group plummeted 73 yen to 2,443 yen. Nomura Holdings, Inc slipped 10 yen to 259 yen.

Tokio Marine declined 3.5% to 1,857 yen and Mito Securities dropped 8% to 139 yen.

Credit Saison Co Ltd dropped 33 yen to 1,729 yen.

Nippon Steel slid 6 yen to 154 yen and JFE Holdings Inc declined 35 yen to 1,058 yen.