2-day Rally in Nikkei Tracks International Markets Advance

Hiruki Nakamura
09 Jan, 2015
New York City

Nikkei index in Tokyo gained in subdued trading and the yen traded near 119 against the U.S. dollar. Stable oil prices and low inflation in China also added to caution in Tokyo trading. Convenience store chain operator, Seven & I reported better-than-expected nine-month sales.

[R]4:30 PM Tokyo – Nikkei index in Tokyo gained in subdued trading and the yen traded near 119 against the U.S. dollar. Stable oil prices and low inflation in China also added to caution in Tokyo trading. Convenience store chain operator, Seven & I reported better-than-expected nine-month sales.[/R]

Stocks in Tokyo jumped slightly after oil prices stabilized and China reported December inflation flat at 1.5%.

Market indexes in New York soared after the release of latest minutes of meetings from the U.S. Federal Reserve. Investors also took an optimistic view in Europe and rooted more stimulus measures form the European Central Bank.

The Nikkei 225 Stock Average gained 30.63 or 0.2% to 17,197.10 and the broader Topix index rose 2.91 to 1,380.58.

The yen strengthened to 118.90 against one dollar.

Stocks in Review

Aeon Mall Co., Ltd increased 0.4% to 2,077 yen after the general goods retailer reported net sales in the third-quarter ending in November soared 15.4% to 147.87 billion yen from 128.10 billion yen a year ago period.

Net income in the quarter declined 9.6% to 15.94 billion yen compared to 17.62 billion yen and diluted earnings per share dropped to 69.91 yen from 81.48 yen in the same period a year ago.

The retailer forecasted revenues for the year ending in February to jump 17.6% to 208 billion yen and net income to climb 6.7% to 25 billion from a year ago period.

McDonald''s Holdings Co (Japan) Ltd slipped 1.1% to 2,503 yen after the fast-food restaurants operator reported same-store sales in December tumbled 21.2% from a year earlier, mainly due to restricted sales of potato fries.

The sales figure are not yet reflecting the recent impact of a series of food contamination incidents of plastic and human tooth detected in burger and in chicken nuggets.

The Japanese company officials apologize on January 7 and pledged to identify human tooth, plastic pieces and other objects in its burger and other foods.

Seven & I Holdings Co., Ltd rose 0.7% to 4,366.50 yen after the convenience store operator reported net sales in the nine-month ending in November climbed 7.5% to 4.51 trillion yen from 4.19 trillion yen a year ago period.

Net income in the quarter slid 0.6% to 127.31 billion yen compared to 128.01 billion yen and diluted earnings per share slumped to 143.88 yen from 144.77 yen in the same period a year ago.

The company forecasted revenues for the year ending in February to soar 8.8% to 6.13 trillion yen and net income to jump 4.7% to 184 billion from a year ago period.

Sony Corp gained 1.3% to 2,599 yen after the electronic and entertainment product maker delayed the launch of PlayStation 4 in China. The product launch was scheduled this Sunday and the device maker offer no new launch date.

Wakita & Co., Ltd fell 0.9% to 1,118 yen after the construction company stated net sales in the third-quarter ending in November gained 8.7% to 44.07 billion yen from 40.55 billion yen a year ago period.

Net income in the quarter rose 2% to 4.22 billion yen compared to 4.14 billion yen and earnings per share slipped to 81.22 yen from 83.46 yen in the same period a year ago.