Nikkei Declines 0.9% on Yen Volatility

Nigel Thomas
08 Jan, 2013
New York City

Stocks in Tokyo eased for the second day in a row and the yen struggled to rebound. The Nikkei declined 0.9% and the yen closed at 87.51 to a dollar. Prime Minister Shinzo Abe is expected to announce a broad stimulus package and press for higher inflation target with the Bank of Japan.

[R]7:00 PM Tokyo – Stocks in Tokyo eased for the second day in a row and the yen struggled to rebound. The Nikkei declined 0.9% and the yen closed at 87.51 to a dollar. Prime Minister Shinzo Abe is expected to announce a broad stimulus package and press for higher inflation target with the Bank of Japan.[/R]

Stocks in Tokyo declined for the second day in a row and the yen advanced for the third session.

The benchmark index shot up 21% since November 14 after the announcement of general election that led to a new government and the expectations soared that a stimulus bill will be soon put in place.

However, new stimulus is not likely to change the economic outlook for Japan and not raise aggregate demand and retail sales in the near term.

The Nikkei 225 Stock Average declined 90.95 or 0.9% to 10,508.06 and the broader Topix Index decreased 9.18 or 1% to 871.88.

The yen edged lower to 87.51 against one dollar.

Stocks in Review

Nippon Building Fund decreased 3.5% to 892,000 yen and the company said it plans to raise as much as 66.7 billion yen through a public offering.

Toyota Motor Corp. dropped 85 yen to 4,100 yen and Honda Motor Co. slumped 30 yen to 3,200 yen and Nissan Motor Co Ltd lowered 9 yen to 842 yen. Mazda Motor Corp plunged 9 yen o 5% 171 yen.

Nippon Steel slid 2 yen to 214 yen and JFE Holdings Inc tumbled 90 yen or 5.5% to 1,544 yen.

Shimano Inc slipped 10 yen to 5,690 yen.

Sony Corp dropped 17 yen to 940, Canon Inc decreased 5 yen to 3,325 yen and Nikon declined 44 yen to 2,567 yen.

Nintendo Co. Ltd plummeted 260 yen to 8,690 yen and Pioneer Corp. slumped 8 yen to 218 yen.

Fanuc Corp. decreased 210 yen to 15,700 yen and Komatsu Ltd dropped 75 yen to 2,247 yen. Hitachi Construction Machinery Co slipped 42 yen to 1,815 yen.

Softbank Corp jumped 1.3% or 40 yen to 3,105 yen.

FamilyMart Co Ltd, the convenience chain operator climbed 130 yen to 3,770 yen and Lawson advanced 80 yen to 6,160 yen. Ito En Ltd jumped 33 yen to 1,662 yen.

Seven & I Holdings Co decreased 15 yen to 2,602 yen. Fast Retailing Co. gained 100 yen to 22,910 yen and J. Front Retailing Co. Ltd closed unchanged at 493 yen.

Mitsubishi UFJ Financial Group slumped 14 yen to 462 yen and Sumitomo Mitsui Financial Group declined 40 yen to 3,150 yen.

Nomura Holdings, Inc dropped 15 yen to 483 yen on the worries that the stock has run ahead of its fundamentals.

Mitsui O.S.K. Lines, Ltd down 3 yen to 260 yen and Nippon Yusen K.K. closed unchanged at 204 yen.