Nikkei Trims Losses in the First- Half, Industrial Output Rises 0.5% in May

Hiruki Nakamura
30 Jun, 2014
New York City

Stocks in Tokyo extended the rebound in the quarter but indexes fell 6.9% in the first-half. Industrial output rose 0.5% in May and the economy is expected to shrink sharply after a surge in first quarter growth rate on the planned sales tax hike in April.

[R]4:30 PM Tokyo – Stocks in Tokyo extended the rebound in the quarter but indexes fell 6.9% in the first-half. Industrial output rose 0.5% in May and the economy is expected to shrink sharply after a surge in first quarter growth rate on the planned sales tax hike in April.[/R]

Stocks in Tokyo advanced and extended the rebound in the month and in the quarter but dropped in the first six months of trading.

Industrial output increased 0.5% in May after falling 2.8% in April, trade minister said today.

The government also estimated industrial output to decline 0.7% in June followed by 1.5% increase in July.

The latest sales tax increase brought forward lot of retail sales forward in the first calendar quarter and the GDP soared at annual rate of 6.7% in the March quarter. However, the economy is expected to shrink an annualized 4.4% in the June quarter and slowdown further to 2.2% increase in the September quarter.

The Nikkei 225 Stock Average gained 67.10 or 0.4% to 15,162.10 and the broader Topix index rose 9.41 to 1,262.56.

For the month, Nikkei 225 climbed 3.6% and for the quarter jumped 3.2% while for the first-half declined 6.9%.

The yen eased to close at 101.40 against one U.S. dollar.

Stocks in Review

Aoyama Trading Co., Ltd gained 2.2% to 2,772 yen after the men''s apparel retailer said net sales in the year ending in March jumped 4.6% to 222.1 billion yen from 212.4 billion yen a year ago period.

Net income in the year rose 2.7% to 12.96 billion yen compared to 12.62 billion yen and diluted earnings per share increased to 213.80 yen from 204.50 yen a year earlier.

Digital Garage, Inc climbed 7.8% to 1,662 yen after the certifications and security services provider reported fiscal year net income of 2.75 billion yen, up from the company’s estimate of 2.1 billion yen.

Mitsubishi Corporation slid 0.05% to 2,107 yen after the conglomerate reported revenue in the year ending in March surged 27% to 7.64 trillion yen from 6.01 trillion yen a year ago.

Net income in the year climbed 11.7% to 361.36 billion yen compared to 323.46 billion yen and diluted earnings per share jumped 7.5% to 218.80 yen from 196.02 yen a year earlier.

The company forecasted net income for the fiscal 2015 to increase of 400 billion yen or 247.48 yen per share.

Nippon Paper Industries Co., Ltd gained 1.2% to 1,906 yen after the Nikkei newspaper reported operating profit for the first-quarter is expected to increase 60% to 6.5 billion yen.