Stocks Slide in Tokyo, Auto Sales Drop 9.4% in March Quarter

Hiruki Nakamura
02 Apr, 2013
New York City

Stocks in Tokyo eased for the second day in a row and the yen advanced to a one-month high. Auto sales in the quarter to March declined 9.4% in Japan after government ended subsidies. Toyota sales fell 15% and Nissan declined 6% and Honda sales plunged 45%.

[R]5:30 PM Tokyo – Stocks in Tokyo eased for the second day in a row and the yen advanced to a one-month high. Auto sales in the quarter to March declined 9.4% in Japan after government ended subsidies. Toyota sales fell 15% and Nissan declined 6% and Honda sales plunged 45%.[/R]

Stocks in Tokyo declined for the second day in a row and broader market index Topix fell below 1,000.

The yen decreased against the dollar and closed at 92.62.

The Nikkei 225 Stock Average dropped 131.59 or 1.1% to 12,003.43 and the broader Topix Index slid 8.99 or 0.9% to 991.34.

Market sentiment was weak after the latest data from the U.S. suggested weakening economic growth and weak auto sales also weighed on the market.

Auto sales in the quarter to March declined 9.4% to 1.53 million vehicles, according to the latest data released by the Japan Automobile Manufacturers Association.

Toyota sales in the quarter declined 15% and Nissan Motor Co sales eased 6% and Honda Motor sales plunged 43%.

Industry sales declined the most in six quarters after government subsidies ended.

Stocks in Review

Toyota Motor Corp declined 145 yen to 4,615 yen and Honda Motor Co. slumped 90 yen to 3,370 yen and Nissan Motor Co Ltd dropped 31 yen to 856 yen. Yamaha Motor Co Ltd decreased 44 yen to 1,198 yen. Mitsubishi Motors Corp slid 2 yen to 93 yen.

Nippon Steel fell 8 yen to 222 yen and JFE Holdings Inc slumped 62 yen to 1,694 yen.

JGC Corp gained 6% after the engineering firm and its France based partner Technip won a tender to build a liquefied natural gas plant on Yamal peninsula in Russia.

Sony slipped 13 yen to 1,559. Canon Inc dropped 115 yen to 3,245 yen and Nikon declined 70 yen to 2,152 yen. TDK Corp decreased 95 yen to 3,200 yen. NEC slid 2 yen to 231 yen.

Nintendo Co. Ltd slumped 130 yen to 9,760 yen.

Nikon Corp declined 3% to 2,152 yen after operating profit plunged 33% to about 45 billion yen on weak camera sales in Europe and the U.S., according to a Nikkei newspaper report that did not cite a source.

Fanuc Corp. declined 330 yen to 14,130 yen and Komatsu Ltd fell 85 yen to 2,123 yen. Hitachi Construction Machinery Co slipped 50 yen to 1,968 yen.

Softbank Corp gained 15 yen to 4,270 yen.

FamilyMart Co Ltd, the convenience chain operator jumped 45 yen to 4,220 yen and Lawson climbed 90 yen to 7,030 yen. Ito En Ltd rose 10 yen to 2,179 yen.

Seven & I Holdings Co increased 34 yen to 2,993 yen. Fast Retailing Co. advanced 650 yen to 31,300 yen and J. Front Retailing Co. Ltd jumped 23 yen to 707 yen.

Mitsubishi UFJ Financial Group rose 12 yen to 544 yen and Sumitomo Mitsui Financial Group climbed 60 yen to 3,695 yen. Dai-Ichi Life declined 3.6% to 118,600 yen. Nomura Holdings, Inc added 4 yen to 556 yen.