Rise-and-Rise in Nikkei is Followed by 2-Day Fall

Hiruki Nakamura
27 May, 2013
New York City

Stocks in Tokyo extended losses for the second day and compounded 2-day loss to 10% as retail investors and computer based trading retrenched. The today

[R]5:30 PM Tokyo – Stocks in Tokyo extended losses for the second day and compounded 2-day loss to 10% as retail investors and computer based trading retrenched. The today’s decline was prompted by the cautionary tone in the latest minutes of meeting released by the Bank of Japan.[/R]

Stocks in Tokyo dropped for the second day in a row and extended two-day plunge to more than 10%.

In turbulent trading, stocks gyrated lower as speculators and retail investors scaled back and analysts increasingly worried that market slide may be accelerated in the coming days.

The today’s decline was prompted by the release of the latest minutes of meeting released by the Bank of Japan.

A few board members highlighted that reaching 2% inflation target may “be difficult to achieve” in the 2-year period laid out by the central bank “since it was highly uncertain if the change in inflation expectation would lead to an increase in actual rate.”

The yen edged higher to 100.93 against one dollar as stocks sold off for the second day in a row after the release of the minutes of meeting in Tokyo.

The Nikkei 225 Stock Average plummeted 469.80 or 3.2% to 14,142.65 and the broader Topix Index declined 40.01 or 3.4% to 1,154.07.

Stocks in Review

Toyota Motor Corp declined 310 yen or 4.9% to 5,920 yen and Honda Motor Co. dropped 175 yen or 4.3% to 3,885 yen and Nissan Motor Co Ltd plunged 79 yen or 6.8% to 1,076 yen.

Sony tumbled 135 yen or 6.3% to 2,013. Canon Inc slipped 50 yen to 3,660 yen and Nikon decreased 59 yen to 2,773 yen.

Fanuc Corp. slipped 520 yen to 15,320 yen Softbank Corp slumped 220 yen or 4.1% to 5,170 yen.

Seven & I Holdings Co rose 20 yen to 3,655 yen. Fast Retailing Co. plummeted 1,050 yen to 37,250 yen.

Mitsubishi UFJ Financial Group dropped 27 yen or 4.3% to 595 yen and Sumitomo Mitsui Financial Group declined 150 yen to 4,060 yen.

Nipro Corporation 216 yen or 19.4% to 1,330 yen after the medical devices maker announced initial public offering of ReproCell Inc., part owned by the company.

Nipro reported net sales in the year ending in March jumped 13.7% to 241 billion yen and net income surged 123.1% to 10.2 billion yen. Operating income for the period declined 28.2% to 11.4 billion yen from 11.5 billion yen a year ago.

Panasonic Corporation plunged 63 yen or 7.1% to 831 yen.