Confidence Index in Japan Drops to a 30-Month Low, GungHo Soars

Hiruki Nakamura
17 Apr, 2014
New York City

Market indexes in Tokyo closed nearly unchanged in thin trading. Confidence index dropped to the lowest in March since August 2011. GungHo Online Entertainment soared on profit report. Developer Ichigo Group reported net annual sales more than doubled.

[R]4:30 PM Tokyo – Market indexes in Tokyo closed nearly unchanged in thin trading. Confidence index dropped to the lowest in March since August 2011. GungHo Online Entertainment soared on profit report. Developer Ichigo Group reported net annual sales more than doubled.[/R]

Market indexes in Tokyo closed flat but broader stocks gained a fraction and the yen traded nearly unchanged.

In economic news, the Cabinet Office reported confidence among Japan households declined to the lowest since August 2011.

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

The Nikkei 225 Stock Average fell 0.15 to 14,417.53 and the Topix index rose 0.04 to 1,166.59.

The yen eased to 102.04 against the U.S. dollar.

Stocks in Review

Toyota Motor Corp slid 11 yen to 5,512 yen. Honda Motor Co dropped 74 yen to 3,459 yen. Nissan Motor Co Ltd fell 1% to 902 yen.

Sony decreased 15 yen to 1,908 yen after the electronics products maker said it sold more than 7 million PlayStation 4 videogame consoles since its launch in 2013.

Softbank Corp edged up 1 yen to 7,605 yen. Fast Retailing Co Ltd slipped 520 yen to 33,430 yen.

Canon Inc gained 1.3% to 3,218 yen after the Nikkei newspaper said the office equipment and camera maker is expected to report its operating profit for the March quarter to soar as much as 50%. The newspaper did not cite any source.

GungHo Online Entertainment, Inc surged 14.3% to 609 yen after the Nikkei newspaper reported online gaming company’s profit jumped on “Puzzle & Dragons” sales.

The Nikkei report said GungHo sales in the first-quarter ending in March surged 50% to 47 billion yen and operating profit climbed 40% to 26 billion yen from a year earlier.

Ichigo Group Holdings Co Ltd jumped 3.2% to 355 yen after the real estate developer reported revenue in the year ending in February surged 114.1% to 35.1 billion yen from 16.4 billion yen a year ago.

Net profit in the year soared 176.5% to 4.53 billion yen compared to 1.64 billion yen and diluted earnings per share climbed to 9.71 yen from 3.66 yen a year earlier.