Japanese Bond Yields Decline. Nikkei Rebounds After 3-Day Slide

Hiruki Nakamura
29 Aug, 2013
New York City

Stocks in Tokyo edged higher after declining for three days in a row. Japanese government bond yields fell and the government completed the sale of $27 billion of 2-year debt.

[R]4:30 PM Tokyo – Stocks in Tokyo edged higher after declining for three days in a row. Japanese government bond yields fell and the government completed the sale of $27 billion of 2-year debt.[/R]

Nikkei index in Tokyo closed higher after a 3-day selloff and Japan completed the sale of government bonds.

The Nikkei 225 Stock Average climbed 121.25 or 0.9% to 13,459.71 and the Topix rose 2.48 to 1,116.51.

The yen closed at 97.63 and emerging market currencies remained under pressure on the rising prospects of a U.S. led military strike against Syria.

The yield on 10-year Japanese government bonds declined to a 3-month low to 0.71% after the 2-year bond sale of 2.7 trillion yen or $27.3 billion attracted a 5.56 bid-to-cover ratio compared to 9.27 in July.

Yield on 30-year bond declined to 1.745% and 20-year yields decreased to 1.63% and 2-year yield fell 0.05 basis points to 0.105%.

Stocks in Review

Toyota Motor Corp gained 40 yen to 6,060 yen and Honda Motor Co. fell 30 yen to 3,580 yen. Nissan Motor Co Ltd slid 4 yen to 979 yen.

Sony added 2 yen to 1,969 yen.

Softbank Corp jumped 70 yen to 6,190 yen and Fast Retailing Co. climbed 900 to 31,800 yen.

Nintendo Co., Ltd slipped 1.2% or 11,840 yen after the entertainment products maker said it plans to cut the price of its Wii U video-game console by $50 to $299 effective September 20.

Hardware sales for the quarter ending in June declined 1.8 million units compared to 3.1 million a year ago as more people shift to play online mobile games.

Panasonic Corporation dropped 2% to 873 yen and media reports suggested that the company plans to pull out of the smart phone business in Japan.