Nikkei Struggles to Reach 7-Week High, Fast Retailing Plunges 6%

Hiruki Nakamura
12 Jul, 2013
New York City

Nikkei in Tokyo struggled to find a direction in trading after yen weakened and Fast Retailing missed operating profit estimate. Asian markets were under pressure after finance minister in China lowered growth estimate.

[R]5:00 PM Tokyo – Nikkei in Tokyo struggled to find a direction in trading after yen weakened and Fast Retailing missed operating profit estimate. Asian markets were under pressure after finance minister in China lowered growth estimate.[/R]

Stocks in Tokyo failed to hold on to largest advance in the day after Fast Retailing reported less than expected operating income.

Market indexes opened higher in the morning after U.S. indexes closed at a new high and a reassurance from the Fed Chairman Bernanke also bolstered sentiment for weaker yen level.

The Nikkei 225 Stock Average increased 33.67 to 14,506.25 and the Topix rose 7.22 to 1,201.99. For the week, Nikkei 225 gained 1.4%.

The yen fell in Tokyo trading after rising for two days to close at 99.14 against one dollar and exporters took a hit in Tokyo trading.

Stocks in Review

Toyota Motor Corp rose 30 yen to 6,410 yen and Honda Motor Co. up 15 yen to 3,805 yen. Nissan Motor Co Ltd added 3 yen to 1,095 yen.

Sony fell 9 yen to 2,179 yen. Canon Inc gained 40 yen to 3,370 yen and Nikon increased 28 yen to 2,256 yen.

Fanuc Corp climbed 320 yen to 15,180 yen and Softbank Corp rose 40 yen to 5,760 yen.

Seven & I Holdings Co slid 20 yen to 3,930 yen.

Fast Retailing Co. plunged 2,250 or 5.8% to 36,450 yen after the apparel retailer said net sales in the third quarter jumped 24.3% to 270.9 billion yen and gross profit climbed 21.2% to 139.9 billion yen. Net income in the quarter surged 56% to 22.9 billion yen.

Uniqlo, net sales in the quarter in Japan increased 11.3% to 154.4 billion yen, international sales climbed 60.7% to 60.6 billion yen and net sales in global brand jumped 34.3% to 55.1 billion yen. Same store sales in the quarter soared 9.3% from a year ago.

In the separate news release, the company said Uniqlo the apparel retailer will open 10 new more stores in New York, New Jersey, Connecticut and California this fall.

The retailer expects group sales for the year to climb 1 trillion yen for the first time and consolidated sales to reach 1.10 trillion yen.

Mitsubishi UFJ Financial Group added 2 yen to 655 yen.

Sumitomo Mitsui Financial Group advanced 60 yen to 4,775 yen and Moody''s Japan K.K. has assigned Aa3 “stable” rating to its senior unsecured bonds.