Volatile Nikkei Falls 1.5%, Fast Retailing Net Surges 8.8%

Hiruki Nakamura
09 Jan, 2014
New York City

Nikkei index slipped 1.5% and the yen dropped below 105 against a dollar. Fast Retailing said net income in the fiscal first quarter increased more than expected 8.8% on higher international sales.

[R]4:30 PM Tokyo – Nikkei index slipped 1.5% and the yen dropped below 105 against a dollar. Fast Retailing said net income in the fiscal first quarter increased more than expected 8.8% on higher international sales.[/R]

In volatile trading market indexes closed lower a day after surging nearly 2%. The yen regained some of the lost ground against the dollar but traded near a five-year low.

The Nikkei 225 Stock Average slipped 241.12 or 1.5% to 15,880.33 and the Topix index fell 9.48 to 1,296.75.

The yen closed at 104.84 against the U.S. dollar and extended loss for the third day in a row.

Stocks in Review

Toyota Motor Corp slid 30 yen to 6,270 yen. Honda Motor Co decreased 20 yen to 4,260 yen.

Nissan Motor Co Ltd fell 3 yen to 932 yen and the company’s North East plant in U.K. became the first site to produce more than 1,000,000 cars in two years.

Sony climbed 69 yen or 3.8% to 1,894 yen and the mobile and entertainment products maker plans to sell 42 million smart-phones in the year ending in March from 22.5 million in 2012. Sony also plans to launch internet-based pay-television service in the U.S. from this year.

Softbank Corp slipped 70 yen to 8,920 yen.

Canon Inc slumped 1.9% to 3,265 yen after the Nikkei news reported that the company''s 2013 operating profit would miss forecasts. Nikkei did not reveal the source of information.

Fast Retailing Co declined 1,550 yen or 3.8% to 39,800 yen after the Japan-based retailer said sales in the first-quarter ending in November climbed 22.3% from a year ago to 389.05 billion yen.

Net income in the quarter jumped 8.8% to 41.85 billion yen compared to 38.4 billion yen a year earlier. Operating profit for the quarter soared 13.1% to 64 billion yen and gross profit soared 23.5% to 199.6 billion yen.

Sales outside Japan surged 76.8% and operating profit soared 97%.

The company reported “strong sales” in China, South Korea and the United States but domestic sales rose 1.8% and operating profit climbed 6.2%.

Mitsubishi Corporation slid 0.9% to 1,998 yen after the trading company plans to bid for the rights to operate Sendai Airport in Miyagi prefecture.