Nikkei Plunges 4.2%

Hiruki Nakamura
04 Feb, 2014
New York City

Nikkei index in Tokyo plunged after investors worried about stretched valuations and the yen gained as emerging market worries persisted. Toyota said January sales declined 7% and Honda sales fell 2.1%. The yen advanced to 101.

[R]4:30 PM Tokyo – Nikkei index in Tokyo plunged after investors worried about stretched valuations and the yen gained as emerging market worries persisted. Toyota said January sales declined 7% and Honda sales fell 2.1%. The yen advanced to 101.[/R]

Stocks in Tokyo plunged following market selloff in Europe and New York and the yen advanced as investors sought the safety in Japanese currencies and recalibrated risk appetite.

The Nikkei plunged the most amongst all Asian markets and extended the loss in the year to 14% after a steep rise in the index in 2013, the largest since 1972.

The Nikkei 225 Stock Average plummeted 610.66 or 4.2% to 14,008.47 and the Topix index plunged 57.05 or 4.8% to 1,139.27.

The yen advanced to 101.27 against the U.S. dollar.

Stocks in Review

Toyota Motor Corp plunged 331 yen or 5.7% to 5,500 yen and the global automaker reported revenue in the third-quarter ending in December soared 23.8% to 6.59 trillion yen from 5.32 trillion yen a year ago period.

Net income in the quarter surged to 525.4 billion yen compared to 99.9 billion yen and diluted earnings per share climbed to 165.70 yen from 31.55 yen a year earlier.

Yesterday, Toyota said January sales in the U.S. declined 7.1% to 154,644 units from 166,501 units and retail sales dropped 5% to 113,721 units.

Honda Motor Co declined 241 yen or 6.3% to 3,565 yen automaker reported U.S. sales in January fell 2.1% to 91,631 units.

Nissan Motor Co Ltd dropped 41 yen or 4.7% to 832 yen.

Sony slumped 51 yen or 3.2% to 1,530 yen after its subsidiary Sony Corporation of America closed on sale of Gracenote, Inc to Tribune Company for $170 million.

Softbank Corp jumped 147 yen or 2.1% to 7,211 yen and reversed nine-day losing streak.

Fast Retailing Co declined 1,150 yen or 3.1% to 36,035 yen after apparel retailer said comparable store sales in January at Uniqlo clothing outlets in Japan soared 15% while sales at company owned stores jumped 18.4% from a year ago.

Total sales including online sales climbed 18%