Additional Weakness in Yen May Lift Tokyo Indexes Above Record Highs

Hiruki Nakamura
02 Dec, 2013
New York City

Stocks in Tokyo closed lower and the yen wobbled near 102-mark against the dollar. Increasingly investors are looking for the yen to drop to 110 against one dollar. Capital spending in the third-quarter increased 1.5%. Nippon Express is expected to buy logistic division from Panasonic.

[R]4:30 PM Tokyo – Stocks in Tokyo closed lower and the yen wobbled near 102-mark against the dollar. Increasingly investors are looking for the yen to drop to 110 against one dollar. Capital spending in the third-quarter increased 1.5%. Nippon Express is expected to buy logistic division from Panasonic.[/R]

Stocks in Tokyo declined and the yen wobbled around 102-mark against one dollar as broader market indexes trade near record territory in years.

The Topix index is up 46% in the year so far and the index is expected to register its best annual gain since 1999. The Nikkei index is up 50.6% for the year so far.

Trading in stock market remained sensitive to the moves in currency markets and investors took bets that the yen will keep falling in the next few months as the central bank and government work in tandem to revive the economy through weaker yen and higher inflation.

The Ministry of Finance reported capital expenditures in the third-quarter jumped 1.5% from the previous quarter to 8.94 trillion yen.

The Nikkei 225 Stock Average slid 6.80 to 15,655.07 and the Topix rose 0.28 to 1,258.94.

The yen closed at 102.43 against one dollar.

Stocks in Review

Toyota Motor Corp slid 10 yen to 6,370 yen. Honda Motor Co. slipped 25 yen to 4,305 yen. Nissan Motor Co Ltd fell 3 yen to 933 yen.

Sony jumped 31 yen to 1,898 yen.

Softbank Corp fell 10 yen to 8,280 yen. Fast Retailing Co. rose 150 yen to 38,950 yen.

Gurunavi Inc surged 17.8% to 2,970 yen after the online search service provider agreed to discuss merge with sushi chain Kappa Create Holdings Co.

JX Holdings, Inc dropped 1.1% to 527 yen after the oil refinery stock was rated to underperform by SMBC Nikko Securities Inc.

Nippon Express Co Ltd rose 0.6% to 531 yen after the transportation services provider agreed to acquire stake of 67% in Panasonic Logistics owned by Japan-based Panasonic Corporation.

Today the Nippon said it will establish its own subsidiary in the Cambodia and begin operations from January 2014.

Panasonic Corporation slipped 0.8% to 1,166 yen after the Japan-based electronic products maker is in talks with automotive parts makers for possible acquisitions as the company target to double revenue to 2 trillion yen from automobile-related products by March 2019.

Toshiba Corporation closed unchanged at 442 yen after the diversified company said it will close LCD TV production plant at Dalian, China by end of this month.

Toshiba will continue to supply TV through partnership with local Chinese makers.

Toshiba plan to acquire U.S.-based OCZ Technology Group, Inc, a solid state drives maker’s assets through bankruptcy proceedings.