Nikkei Jumps 1%; Hitachi, Komatsu, Fanuc Fuji Heavy Up on Outlook

Nigel Thomas
31 Oct, 2012
New York City

Investors shifted attention to domestic earnings news and the Nikkei in Tokyo jumped 1%. Hitachi and Komatsu gained after maintaining annual earnings outlook and Fuji Heavy soared 7% after lifting earnings estimate.

[R]7:00 PM Tokyo – Investors shifted attention to domestic earnings news and the Nikkei in Tokyo jumped 1%. Hitachi and Komatsu gained after maintaining annual earnings outlook and Fuji Heavy soared 7% after lifting earnings estimate.[/R]

The Nikkei average in Tokyo trading shot up after Hitachi and Komatsu held their earnings outlook and Fuji Heavy lifted annual earnings estimate.

Investors returned to add stocks and the Nikkei regained the lost ground after the Bank of Japan offered more stimulus measures in line with expectations even though some had hoped that the central bank will take bolder steps.

The Nikkei 225 Stock Average advanced 86.31 or 0.9% to 8,928.29 and the broader Topix Index increased 8.87 or 1.2% to 742.33.

For the month, the Nikkei fell 0.5%.

The yen fell slightly to 79.56 to a dollar from the Tuesday’s high of 79.28.

Stocks in Review

Japan Airlines Co Ltd dropped 70 yen to 3,800 yen and All Nippon Airways soared 5.6% to 169 yen.

Japan Tobacco declined 1.5% to 2,206 yen.

Mitsui O.S.K. Lines, Ltd gained 6 yen to 191 yen and Kawasaki Kisen Kaisha, Ltd added 4 yen to 101 yen and Nippon Yusen K.K. increased 5 yen to 152 yen.

Honda climbed 2.4% after extending the losses of 4.7% on the previous day after the car maker lowered its fiscal year net income by 20% to 375 billion yen or $4.7 billion after sales in China declined on the boycott of Japanese products.

Toyota Motor Corp. jumped 50 yen to 3,065 yen and Honda Motor Co. climbed 57 yen to 2,390 yen and Nissan Motor Co Ltd increased 15 yen to 668 yen. Nissan has the largest exposure to Chinese market among the three largest auto makers.

Nippon Steel gained 7 yen to 176 yen and JFE Holdings Inc climbed 53 yen or 4.9% to 1,125 yen. Tokyo Steel Manufacturing increased 9 yen to 256 yen.

Fujikura Ltd slipped 1.8% to 222 yen after the company lowered its full-year net income forecast 50% to 2 billion yen on higher competition at home and abroad.

TDK jumped 108 yen to 2,997 yen, Murata Manufacturing Co gained 30 yen to 3,855 yen and Meiko Electronics Co Ltd slid 0.2% or 618 yen.

Shimano Inc plummeted 150 yen to 4,950 yen.

Ricoh Co Ltd dropped 21 yen to 667 yen after it missed its earnings expectations and reported net income of 11.7 billion yen in the six months to September.

Sony Corp increased 26 yen to 954 and Seiko Epson Corp added 3 yen to 443 yen.

Canon Inc climbed 38 yen to 2,578 yen, Nikon jumped 44 yen to 2,030 yen and Olympus Corp. increased 1.2% to 1,394 yen.

Nintendo Co. Ltd jumped 180 yen to 10,230 yen, Fujitsu added 3 yen to 307 yen and Pioneer Corp. up 3 yen to 191 yen. Sharp Corp closed unchanged at 172 yen.

Panasonic Corp declined 4.5% and after the market close reported that annual loss is expected to increase to 765 billion yen from 50 billion yen profit estimated in May.

Fuji Heavy increased 6.7% to 767 yen after the company lifted its full-year net income estimate 40% to 67 billion yen on stronger than expected sales in the U.S.

Fanuc Corp. advanced 200 yen to 12,710 yen and Komatsu Ltd jumped 52 yen to 1,672 yen. Hitachi Construction Machinery Co increased 11 yen to 1,311 yen.

FamilyMart Co Ltd, the convenience chain operator climbed 70 yen to 3,870 yen and Lawson gained 30 yen to 5,870 yen. Ito En Ltd slumped 14 yen to 1,502 yen.

Seven & I Holdings Co closed unchanged at 2,462 yen.

Asahi Group Holdings decreased 1.7% after the company guided that full-year operating profit may fall short after it reported weak nine months results.

Yamada Denki gained 140 yen to 3,460 yen. Nitori Holdings Co increased 50 yen to 6,520 yen, apparel retailer Shimamura advanced 110 yen to 8,320 yen and Sagami Co added 2 yen to 118 yen.

Fast Retailing Co. jumped 90 yen to 17,780 yen and J. Front Retailing Co. Ltd lowered 2 yen to 415 yen.

Inpex Corp increased 1.7% to 455,000 yen and Japan Petroleum Exploration Co. jumped 50 yen to 3,005 yen. Tokyo Electric Power Company, Inc. added 2 yen to 130 yen.

Mitsubishi UFJ Financial Group up 1 yen to 361 yen and Sumitomo Mitsui Financial Group climbed 27 yen to 2,444 yen. Nomura Holdings, Inc added 1 yen to 288 yen.