Nikkei Rebounds, Third Monthly CPI Decline in Japan

Hiruki Nakamura
01 Mar, 2013
New York City

Nikkei index in Tokyo rebounded from the loss of 0.8% to close up 0.4%. Bank of Japan may announce more monetary steps at its first meeting in April after consumer prices declined for the third month in a row.

[R]5:00 PM Tokyo – Nikkei index in Tokyo rebounded from the loss of 0.8% to close up 0.4%. Bank of Japan may announce more monetary steps at its first meeting in April after consumer prices declined for the third month in a row.[/R]

Stocks in Tokyo traded lower at the opening and the benchmark index declined as much as 0.8% before rebounding to close up 0.4%.

Prime Minister Shinzo Abe nominated Haruhiko Kuroda as the next Bank of Japan chief and sought his approval from the parliament.

Investors are expecting more monetary easing steps at the first meeting of central bank in April after the latest inflation data suggested price declines.

According to Japan’s statistics bureau, consumer prices declined 0.2% in January, third monthly decline in a row.

The Nikkei 225 Stock Average increased 47.02 or 0.4% to 11,606.38 and the broader Topix Index gained 8.67 or 0.9% to 984.33. The Nikkei increased for the third month in a row and the Topix closed at its highest since 2010.

For the week, the Nikkei jumped 1.9% and for February month the index surged 3.7%.

For the year so far, the Nikkei has surged 11.2% and soared 35% since last November.

The yen rebounded against the dollar to 92.97.

Stocks in Review

GS Yuasa Corp decreased 6 yen to 396 yen and Japan Tobacco climbed 125 yen or 4.3% to 3,050 yen.

Automakers and exporters declined after China reported manufacturing index declined to 50.1 in February, second monthly decrease in growth rate. Any index level above 50 shows expansion.

Toyota Motor Corp slipped 15 yen to 4,750 yen and Honda Motor Co. gained 10 yen to 3,465 yen and Nissan Motor Co Ltd increased 7 yen to 944 yen. Yamaha Motor Co Ltd slumped 10 yen to 1,098 yen.

Nippon Steel up 1 yen to 252 yen and JFE Holdings Inc jumped 25 yen to 2,012 yen.

Sony climbed 52 yen to 1,390. Canon Inc added 10 yen to 3,375 yen and Nikon fell 16 yen to 2,064 yen. TDK Corp decreased 25 yen to 3,175 yen.

Nintendo Co. Ltd gained 40 yen to 9,030 yen. Dainippon Screen Manufacturing Co slipped 10 yen to 452 yen.

Fanuc Corp. lowered 30 yen to 14,280 yen and Komatsu Ltd slid 15 yen to 2,323 yen. Hitachi Construction Machinery Co dropped 44 yen to 2,085 yen.

Softbank Corp slumped 45 yen to 3,390 yen.

FamilyMart Co Ltd, the convenience chain operator closed unchanged at 3,905 yen and Lawson added 20 yen to 6,910 yen. Ito En Ltd increased 35 yen to 1,912 yen.

Seven & I Holdings Co climbed 55 yen to 2,761 yen. Fast Retailing Co. fell 50 yen to 25,380 yen and J. Front Retailing Co. Ltd up 1 yen to 549 yen.

Mitsubishi UFJ Financial Group rose 10 yen to 523 yen and Sumitomo Mitsui Financial Group gained 60 yen to 3,770 yen. Dai-Ichi Life up 0.2% to 130,300 yen. Nomura Holdings, Inc climbed 18 yen to 550 yen.