Nikkei Above 19000, Fanuc Soars 13%

Hiruki Nakamura
13 Mar, 2015
New York City

Stocks in Tokyo closed higher and the Nikkei jumped to a high not seen since 2000. Industrial production in January increased 3.7%. Fanuc soared 13% after the industrial robot maker took steps to increase communication with shareholders.

[R]4:30 PM Tokyo – Stocks in Tokyo closed higher and the Nikkei jumped to a high not seen since 2000. Industrial production in January increased 3.7%. Fanuc soared 13% after the industrial robot maker took steps to increase communication with shareholders.[/R]

Stocks in Tokyo extended gains for the third day in a row and the Nikkei rose above 19,000 for the first time since April 2000.

Seasonally adjusted industrial output in January jumped 3.7% from 2.8% decline in the same month a year ago, the Ministry of Economy, Trade and Industry reported.

The Nikkei 225 Stock Average climbed 263.14 or 1.4% to 19,254.25 and the broader Topix index jumped 13.70 to 1,560.33.

For the week, Nikkei 225 increased 1.5%.

The yen eased and extended losses to 121.44 against a dollar.

Stocks in Review

Ateam Inc gained 1.3% to 5,360 yen after the gaming application developer said revenues in the first-half ending in January climbed 18.4% to 6.86 billion yen from 5.79 billion yen a year ago period.

Net income in the period surged 156% to 682 million yen compared to 266 million yen and diluted earnings per share jumped to 69.77 yen from 27.24 yen in the same period a year ago.

The company forecasted revenues in the year ending in July to soar 24.6% to 15 billion yen and net income to advance 33.7% to 1.08 billion yen.

The company plans for stock split of 2-for-1 and declared the record date of April 30.

Comforia Residential Investment Corp rose 0.4% to 248,000 yen after the residential construction company reported revenues in the first-half ending in January dropped 2.1% to 4.10 billion yen from 4.02 billion yen a year ago period.

Net income in the period slid 0.7% to 1.73 billion yen compared to 1.72 billion yen and earnings per share increased to 4,296 yen from 4,291 yen in the same period a year ago.

Kansai Electric Power Co Inc climbed 3.4% to 1,076.50 yen after the electric power supplier and trading house Marubeni Corp received initial approval from government of Akita Prefecture to build two 1.3 giga-watts coal-fired power plants in northwestern Japan.

The power plants cost is estimated to be more than 300 billion yen or $2.47 billion.

Separately, Kansai Electric plans to set up an 112,000 kilowatt coal power plant in Sendai in northeastern Japan.

Zappallas, Inc edged up 0.3% to 624 yen after the smart phone apps developer said net sales in the nine-month ending in January declined 4.2% to 5.57 billion yen from 5.81 billion yen a year ago period.

Net in the period swung to a loss of 38 million yen compared to profit of 319 million yen and diluted loss per share swung to a 3.06 yen from earnings per share of 25.28 yen in the same period a year ago.