Earnings Drive Nikkei Higher; Kawasaki Kisen, Daiwa, SoftBank in Focus

Hiruki Nakamura
30 Jul, 2013
New York City

Investors focused on earnings and the direction of yen trading. Kawasaki Kisen Kaisha soared on earnings outlook, Softbank reported a rise in subscriber base after close and Daiwa Securities reported record first-quarter earnings. Industrial production decreased 3.3% in June.

[R]4:30 PM Tokyo – Investors focused on earnings and the direction of yen trading. Kawasaki Kisen Kaisha soared on earnings outlook, Softbank reported a rise in subscriber base after close and Daiwa Securities reported record first-quarter earnings. Industrial production decreased 3.3% in June.[/R]

Stocks in Tokyo rose after falling for four days and rebounded but investors stayed on the sidelines as corporations announce earnings.

Kawasaki Kisen Kaisha Ltd soared 6% after the third largest shipper said its first-quarter earnings are expected to increase, Dwango Co soared 11% and Daiwa Securities Group increased 3% after it reported a record first-quarter earnings in at least ten years.

Industrial production in Japan declined 3.3% in June from May, the Trade Ministry said today in Tokyo.

Separately, the statistics bureau said unemployment rate declined to 3.9% in June from 4.1% in May.

The Nikkei 225 Stock Average jumped 208.69 or 1.5% to 13,869.82 and the Topix gained 20.08 to 1,148.53.

The yen weakened in Tokyo trading to close at 98.04 against one dollar and exporters rebounded.

Stocks in Review

Toyota Motor Corp climbed 170 yen to 6,070 yen and Honda Motor Co. gained 35 yen to 3,710 yen. Nissan Motor Co Ltd rose 4 yen to 1,046 yen.

Sony gained 60 yen to 2,117 yen and Canon Inc dropped 65 yen to 3,035 yen. Nikon rose 9 yen to 2,093 yen.

Fanuc Corp increased 40 yen to 14,950 yen.

Softbank Corp added 60 yen to 6,300 yen after chief executive officer Masayoshi Son said ""There is no firm plan for an Alibaba IPO."" Alibaba has not decided timetable about the IPO, regarding a possible initial public offering for Alibaba.

The mobile communication provider said net sales in the first quarter ending in June jumped 21.4% to 881.1 billion yen from 725.9 billion yen. Net income for the quarter 263.2 billion yen compared to 118.6 billion yen a year ago period. EBITDA margin increased 39.2% from 38.7%.

Seven & I Holdings Co climbed 105 yen to 3,750 yen and Fast Retailing Co. rose 300 to 34,400 yen.

Mitsubishi UFJ Financial Group gained 6 yen to 609 yen.

Sumitomo Mitsui Financial Group increased 40 yen to 4,505 yen after the bank reported group operating revenue in the first quarter climbed 16% to 1.22 trillion yen from 1.05 trillion yen and group net profit more than doubled for the quarter to 288.33 billion yen compared to 117.84 billion yen.

Hitachi Construction Machinery Co plunged 5% after the maker of equipment and machinery said its operating profit declined 28% in the quarter to June.

Yakult Honsha soared 17% to 4,935 yen and the company said it plans to buy back its share as much as 4.35% for 33 billion yen before the end of the year, according to a statement filed with the Tokyo Stock Exchange today.

GungHo Online Entertainment Inc declined 13% to 91,800 yen after the online game developer reported sales that were lower than expected.