Japan Plans to Cut Stake in Tobacco Company, Nikkei Plunges 2.3%

Hiruki Nakamura
26 Feb, 2013
New York City

Stocks in Tokyo dropped and the yen advanced against the euro and the dollar after Italy headed for a hung parliament. Japan Tobacco eased 0.7% after the government filed to lower its stake to raise as much as $10 billion.

[R]5:00 PM Tokyo – Stocks in Tokyo dropped and the yen advanced against the euro and the dollar after Italy headed for a hung parliament. Japan Tobacco eased 0.7% after the government filed to lower its stake to raise as much as $10 billion.[/R]

The lack of clear winner in Italian elections dampened the market sentiment in Tokyo and across Asia. The yen advanced.

Italian elections results indicated a hung parliament and the nation may be forced to vote second time as the center-left coalition led by Pier Luigi Bersani held a slim majority in the lower house of the parliament.

The Nikkei 225 Stock Average plummeted 263.71 or 2.3% to 11,398.81 and the broader Topix Index dropped 13.93 or 1.4% to 966.77.

The yen traded volatile and gained sharply against the euro and the dollar. The yen strengthened as much as 90.84 against one dollar before easing to 92.56. The yen also traded as low as 118.74 to one euro.

Stocks in Review

Japan Tobacco declined 0.7% to 2,880 yen and in a regulatory filing the Ministry of Finance said it plans to sell 333.3 million shares of the 1 billion shares it held in the company. The government will cut its stake in the company from 50% to 16%.

Medical Care Service soared 7% to 227,000 yen after Sanko Soflan offered to acquire the company at 294,000 yen a share.

Shipping companies traded higher on the positive comments from a brokerage firm and Kawasaki Kisen Kaisha Ltd soared to a high since August 2011.

Toyota Motor Corp declined 80 yen to 4,715 yen and Honda Motor Co. dropped 110 yen to 3,415 yen and Nissan Motor Co Ltd slumped 24 yen to 916 yen.

Mazda Motor Corp slid 4 yen to 276 yen. Yamaha Motor Co Ltd slipped 15 yen to 1,082 yen.

Nippon Steel decreased 9 yen to 250 yen and JFE Holdings Inc declined 91 yen or 4.3% to 2,014 yen.

Sony dropped 50 yen to 1,290. Canon Inc slumped 50 yen to 3,325 yen and Nikon slipped 74 yen to 2,078 yen. TDK Corp decreased 95 yen to 3,165 yen.

Nintendo Co. Ltd rose 40 yen to 9,080 yen. Dainippon Screen Manufacturing Co plummeted 20 yen or 4.2% to 457 yen.

Fanuc Corp. dropped 360 yen to 14,190 yen and Komatsu Ltd slumped 48 yen to 2,293 yen. Hitachi Construction Machinery Co declined 66 yen to 2,096 yen.

Softbank Corp decreased 55 yen to 3,420 yen.

FamilyMart Co Ltd, the convenience chain operator slumped 105 yen to 3,895 yen and Lawson fell 220 yen to 6,940 yen. Ito En Ltd slid 3 yen to 1,873 yen.

Seven & I Holdings Co slipped 57 yen to 2,736 yen. Fast Retailing Co. plummeted 1,040 yen or 4% to 24,960 yen and J. Front Retailing Co. Ltd dropped 20 yen to 548 yen.

Mitsubishi UFJ Financial Group fell 8 yen to 519 yen and Sumitomo Mitsui Financial Group slumped 65 yen to 3,690 yen. Dai-Ichi Life slipped 2.1% to 130,400 yen. Nomura Holdings, Inc decreased 6 yen to 535 yen.