Sharp Tumbles 28%; Toyota Net Rises, Sony Lowers Outlook

Nigel Thomas
03 Aug, 2012
New York City

Investors in Tokyo were cautious and participated in global market selloff and remained focused on domestic economy oriented companies. Sharp tumbled 28% and traded at a 3-decade low after it reversed its outlook to a loss and Sony fell 7% after it cut its full year estimate.

[R]7:00 PM Tokyo – Investors in Tokyo were cautious and participated in global market selloff and remained focused on domestic economy oriented companies. Sharp tumbled 28% and traded at a 3-decade low after it reversed its outlook to a loss and Sony fell 7% after it cut its full year estimate.[/R]

Stocks in Tokyo declined following the market fall in Europe and the U.S. after the European Central Bank said it will act in secondary bond market only after rescue funds purchase government bonds first and politicians work to restructure economies.

Investors in Japan focused on domestic economy stocks as the local economy is expected to deliver faster growth that the economies of the euro zone and the U.S.

After the close, Toyota Motor reported higher than expected earnings and said it plans to build a record 9.76 million automobiles in the current fiscal year, 23% increase from 7.95 million vehicles in 2011.

Including the sale of trucks and light vehicles, Toyota estimated 10.05 million vehicles production in the year, the first auto maker to cross 10-million mark.

The Nikkei 225 Stock Average declined 98.07 or 1.1% to 8,555.11 and the broader Topix index fell 9.04 or 1.2% to 723.94. For the week, the Nikkei 225 Stock Average fell 0.1%.

In trading, turnover improved to 1.84 billion shares from 1.78 billion shares on Thursday.

Stock Movers

Toyota Motor after the close reported net profit in the quarter to June increased to 290.3 billion yen and operating profit increased to 353 billion yen compared to a loss of 108 billion yen in the quarter a year ago.

So far in the first half of the year, Toyota is leading General Motors in its worldwide unit sales by 300,000 and is the number one automaker in the world.

Toyota Motor increased 20 yen to 3,065 yen and Honda Motor Co. gained 9 yen to 2,403 yen. Nissan Motor Co Ltd decreased 12 yen to 738 yen.

Yesterday, three largest automakers reported gains in U.S. auto sales in July. In the month, Toyota sales increased 26%, Nissan sales rose 16% and Honda sales surged 45% from a year ago as companies rebuild supply chains after devastating earthquake and floods last year.

Canon Inc rose 1 yen to 2,694 yen, Seiko Epson Corp declined 5.6% to 503 yen and Ricoh Co Ltd dropped 4% to 569 yen.

Sony Corp declined 67 yen or 6.9% to 897 yen after it lowered full year net income outlook by a third to 20 billion yen. Sony also said its operating profit plunged 77% from a year ago and lowered its full year outlook.

Panasonic Corp slumped 22 yen to 564 yen, Toshiba decreased 9 yen to 253 yen and Nikon plummeted 41 yen to 2,115 yen.

Sharp dropped 28% to 192 yen and traded at a 3-decade low after it estimated annual loss of 250 billion yen or $3.2 billion. From its previous estimate of 20 billion yen profit.

Sharp dropped to the low last since in 1976 and announced its first layoff in nearly sixty years.

Nintendo Co. Ltd decreased 2.7% to 8,340 yen and Fujitsu fell 2.6% to 302 yen.

Fanuc Ltd slumped 140 yen to 11,580 yen, Komatsu Ltd slipped 25 yen to 1,621 yen and Hitachi Construction Machinery Co dropped 45 yen to 1,355 yen.

Nippon Sheet Glass Co Ltd plunged 14% after it lowered its full year sales estimate by 5% and the company blamed the weak demand in Europe.

Yamada Denki decreased 2.5% or 100 yen to 3,880 yen. Nitori Holdings Co closed down 0.1% to 7,540 yen, apparel retailer Shimamura slid 1% to 9,050 yen and Sagami Co fell 1 yen to 100 yen.

Fast Retailing Co. gained 460 yen to 16,300 yen after same store sales declined less than estimated and J. Front Retailing Co. Ltd closed down 6 yen to 382 yen.

Kajima Corp fell 3 yen to 215 yen and Taisei Corp slid 4 yen to 211 yen. Sekisui House Ltd slipped 7 yen to 728 yen and Daito Trust Construction Co Ltd increased 0.3% to 7,750 yen.

Tokyo Tatemono Co., Ltd fell 8 yen to 279 yen and Mitsui Fudosan decreased 22 yen to 1,517 yen and Sumitomo Realty & Development Co. slumped 21 yen to 1,965 yen.

Kansai Electric Power Company, Inc rose 4 yen to 578 yen.

Inpex Corp rose 0.1% to 428,000 yen and Japan Petroleum Exploration Co. added 6 yen to 2,846 yen.

Mitsui O.S.K. Lines, Ltd slipped 11 yen to 213 yen, Kawasaki Kisen Kaisha, Ltd fell 6 yen to 106 yen and Nippon Yusen K.K. slid 5 yen to 165 yen.

Mitsubishi UFJ Financial Group fell 5 yen to 370 yen and Sumitomo Mitsui Financial Group plummeted 44 yen to 2,490 yen. Nomura Holdings, Inc slipped 7 yen to 268 yen.

Tokio Marine dropped 36 yen to 1,767 yen and Mito Securities slumped 4.9% to 134 yen.

Credit Saison Co Ltd decreased 17 yen to 1,780 yen.

Nippon Steel fell 5 yen to 151 yen and JFE Holdings Inc declined 39 yen to 988 yen.