Nikkei in 5-Day Slump; Nexon, Sumitomo Rubber Fall

Nigel Thomas
09 Nov, 2012
New York City

Stocks in Tokyo declined for the fifth day and fell to a 4-week low as investors worry slowing global economic outlook and rising debt worries in the U.S. and the euro zone. Nexon and Sumitomo Rubber declined on weaker outlook. Gungho Online soared 13%.

[R]7:00 PM Tokyo – Stocks in Tokyo declined for the fifth day and fell to a 4-week low as investors worry slowing global economic outlook and rising debt worries in the U.S. and the euro zone. Nexon and Sumitomo Rubber declined on weaker outlook. Gungho Online soared 13%.[/R]

The Nikkei index in Tokyo declined for the fifth day in a row and fell to a 4-week low as the yen strengthened and investors focused on the political developments in China, U.S. and the euro zone.

Chinese leaders kicked off their week long annual gathering that is expected to see once in a decade transfer of power and may shift economic priorities to consumption from infrastructure development.

U.S. lawmakers made conciliatory statements as lawmakers in the Senate and the House scramble to agree on budget priorities and avoid automatic spending cuts and tax increases scheduled to start on Jan 1.

Greek parliament voted in favor of €13.5 billion austerity measures demanded by international lenders but the group of the euro zone finance said they will release the next tranche of bailout worth €31 billion only after the compliance report is released by the lenders.

The Nikkei 225 Stock Average dropped 79.55 or 0.9% to 8,757.60 and the broader Topix Index slipped 4.61 or 0.6% to 730.74. For the week, the Nikkei declined 3.2%.

The yen gained to 79.32 to a dollar and rose to 101.05 yen from 101.89 at the close yesterday.

Stocks in Review

Toyota Motor Corp. slipped 15 yen to 3,140 yen and Honda Motor Co. lowered 7 yen to 2,388 yen and Nissan Motor Co Ltd up 1 yen to 698 yen. Mazda Motor Corp closed unchanged at 105 yen.

Isuzu Motors Ltd added 0.5% to 450 yen after the company said cost cutting will help the auto maker increase its net income forecast 12% to 91 billion yen.

Nippon Steel slid 3 yen to 168 yen and JFE Holdings Inc dropped 25 yen to 1,092 yen. Tokyo Steel Manufacturing down 5 yen to 255 yen.

Fujikura Ltd lowered 0.9% to 219 yen and TDK decreased 13 yen to 2,800 yen.

Murata Manufacturing Co declined 65 yen to 4,985 yen and Meiko Electronics Co Ltd climbed 3.5% or 528 yen.

Shimano Inc increased 10 yen to 5,090 yen.

Ricoh Co Ltd slipped 4 yen to 652 yen, Sony Corp decreased 8 yen to 879 and Seiko Epson Corp declined 13 yen to 438 yen. Canon Inc down 20 yen to 2,485 yen and Nikon dropped 24 yen to 1,878 yen.

Olympus Corp. slumped 1.4% to 1,265 yen and Nintendo Co. Ltd declined 190 yen to 9,850 yen, Fujitsu dropped 9 yen to 271 yen and Pioneer Corp. slid 1 yen to 165 yen. Sharp Corp gained 3 yen to 155 yen. Panasonic Corp lowered 2 yen at 394 yen.

Fanuc Corp. declined 160 yen to 12,680 yen and Komatsu Ltd decreased 23 yen to 1,697 yen. Hitachi Construction Machinery Co slumped 40 yen to 1,325 yen.

Sumitomo Heavy slid 1% to 300 yen and Sumitomo rubber declined 6.7% to 868 yen after the company lowered its sales outlook 1.4% to 705 billion yen in the current calendar year.

FamilyMart Co Ltd, the convenience chain operator increased 10 yen to 3,670 yen and Lawson closed unchanged at 5,710 yen. Ito En Ltd added 1 yen to 1,453 yen.

Seven & I Holdings Co jumped 28 yen to 2,369 yen.

Yamada Denki plummeted 25 yen to 3,145 yen. Nitori Holdings Co gained 10 yen to 6,200 yen, apparel retailer Shimamura advanced 90 yen to 8,150 yen and Sagami Co up 1 yen to 120 yen.

Fast Retailing Co. declined 270 yen to 16,870 yen and J. Front Retailing Co. Ltd slipped 6 yen to 384 yen.

Inpex Corp dropped 1.8% to 436,000 yen, Japan Petroleum Exploration Co. decreased 15 yen to 2,796 yen. Tokyo Electric Power Co, Inc. slid 3 yen to 122 yen.

Mitsubishi UFJ Financial Group down 1 yen to 355 yen and Sumitomo Mitsui Financial Group slumped 23 yen to 2,395 yen. Nomura Holdings, Inc lowered 3 yen to 288 yen.

Nexon dropped 16% to 766 yen after the game maker lowered its current fiscal year outlook to between 28.9 billion yen and 31 billion yen and blamed it on higher exchange rate and the recent acquisition of Glopps Inc.

Gungho Online Entertainment Inc soared 13% and extended yearly gain to 170% after it revised higher its operating earnings outlook.

Japan Airlines Co Ltd climbed 95 yen to 3,760 yen and All Nippon Airways up 1 yen to 166 yen.

Japan Tobacco increased 9 yen to 2,247 yen.

Mitsui O.S.K. Lines, Ltd slid 1 yen to 186 yen and Kawasaki Kisen Kaisha, Ltd added 1 yen to 99 yen and Nippon Yusen K.K. gained 3 yen to 152 yen.