Nikkei in Tokyo Rises 0.7%, PlayStation 4 Sales Cross 7 Million

Hiruki Nakamura
18 Apr, 2014
New York City

Stocks advanced for the third day in Tokyo but trading volume was thin. Sony said sale of video game console unit in the first six month since its release outpaced 7 million and stayed ahead of Microsoft

[R]4:30 PM Tokyo – Stocks advanced for the third day in Tokyo but trading volume was thin. Sony said sale of video game console unit in the first six month since its release outpaced 7 million and stayed ahead of Microsoft’s Xbox One.[/R]

In thin trading, stocks in Tokyo gained for the third day in a row as markets in U.S., Europe, India and Australia were closed for Good Friday holiday.

In economic news, the Cabinet Office’s monthly survey showed confidence among Japan’s households declined to the lowest since August 2011.

The consumer sentiment index dropped to 37.5 in March from 38.5 in February.

Governor of Bank of Japan Haruhiko Kuroda said that the bank will adjust monetary policy when its needed and reiterated that Japan is making steady progress to achieve its inflation target of 2%, as the economy continues to recover moderately.

The Nikkei 225 Stock Average increased 98.74 or 0.7% to 14,516.27 and the Topix index rose 6.78 to 1,173.37.

The yen eased to 102.44 against the U.S. dollar.

Stocks in Review

Toyota Motor Corp jumped 52 yen to 5,564 yen. Honda Motor Co fell 32 yen to 3,427 yen. Nissan Motor Co Ltd slid 0.3% to 899 yen.

Sony gained 24 yen to 1,932 yen after the electronic products maker said as of April 6, or five months after its release, worldwide sales of its $399 video-game console surpassed 7 million units. Sale of PS4 software or games crossed 20.5 million to date.

Microsoft’s Xbox One sold 4.2 million units in the period.

Separately, Sony agreed to sell its stake in Square Enix to SMBC Nikko Securities Inc. for 15.3 billion yen or $150 million and Sony will book a 4.8 billion yen gain on the sale in the first quarter.

Softbank Corp rose 18 yen to 7,623 yen. Fast Retailing Co Ltd jumped 280 yen to 33,710 yen.

Takaoka Toko Co Ltd plunged 7.2% to 1,635 yen after the electrical equipment provider lowered its full year revenue outlook of 88.8 billion yen compared to 90 billion yen a year ago. Net income estimated was lowered to 600 million yen compared to 1.27 billion yen for the year ending March.

Treasure Factory Co., Ltd closed unchanged at 1,965 after the Japan-based secondhand products retailer said net sales in the fourth-quarter ending in February climbed 114.3% to 9.13 billion yen from 7.98 billion yen a year ago.

Net income in the quarter soared 112.3% to 417 million yen compared to 371 million yen and earnings per share increased to 150.74 yen from 135.27 yen a year earlier.