Nikkei in Tokyo Retains Upward Swing; JFE, JSR, Kao in Focus

Hiruki Nakamura
23 Apr, 2015
New York City

With corporate earnings in focus, Nikkei index closed above 20,000 for the second day in a row after fifteen years. CyberAgent said second-quarter revenues rose 29%. JFE Holdings said annual net rose 36%. JSR Corp said net gained 19% on nearly flat revenues.

[R]4:30 PM Tokyo – With corporate earnings in focus, Nikkei index closed above 20,000 for the second day in a row after fifteen years. CyberAgent said second-quarter revenues rose 29%. JFE Holdings said annual net rose 36%. JSR Corp said net gained 19% on nearly flat revenues.[/R]

Market indexes in Tokyo edged higher and Nikkei closed above 20,000 mark for the second day in a row after fifteen years.

Investors remained focused on corporate earnings and overlooked the latest weak report on factory activities in China. Also, dollar gained in international trading and European markets generally closed higher in overnight trading.

The Nikkei 225 Stock Average gained 53.75 or 0.3% to 20,187.65 and the broader Topix index added 3.08 to 1,624.87.

The yen closed at 119.85 against a dollar.

Stocks in Review

CyberAgent, Inc dropped 2.5% to 6,360 yen after the media and mobile advertisement agency reported net sales in the second-quarter ending in March soared 28.9% to 123.96 billion yen from 96.16 billion yen in a year ago period.

Net income in the period nearly doubled to 9.87 billion yen compared to 4.96 billion yen and diluted earnings per share jumped to 157.02 yen from 79.25 yen in the same period a year ago.

The company forecasted net sales in the year to climb 16.9% to 240 billion yen and net income to soar 46.5% to 14 billion yen.

JFE Holdings, Inc slipped 1.7% to 2,733 yen after the steel products maker stated net sales in the year ending in March increased 5% to 3.85 trillion yen from 3.67 trillion yen in a year ago period.

Net income in the period climbed 36.1% to 139.36 billion yen compared to 102.38 billion yen and earnings per share jumped to 241.60 yen from 177.44 yen in the same period a year ago.

JFE Holdings forecasted operating income for the year of about 230 billion yen, nearly flat to fiscal 2014.

JSR Corporation plunged 6.6% to 2,050 yen after the elastomer and resin products maker said net sales in the year ending in March jumped 2.5% to 404.1 billion yen from 394.3 billion yen in a year ago period.

Net income in the period soared 18.9% to 29.92 billion yen compared to 25.17 billion yen and earnings per share increased to 128.19 yen from 106.10 yen in the same period a year ago.

Kao Corporation fell 1% to 6,084 yen after the cosmetics and skincare products maker reported revenues in the first-quarter ending in March dropped 3.6% to 328.78 billion yen from 341.20 billion yen in a year ago period.

Net income in the period tumbled 52.3% to 12.02 billion yen compared to 25.20 billion yen and diluted earnings per share declined to 23.94 yen from 49.13 yen in the same period a year ago.

The retailer forecasted net sales in the first-half ending in June to jump 5.1% to 700 billion yen and net income to plunge 17.8% to 26 billion yen.

The company forecasted net sales for the year to increased 4.9% to 1.47 trillion yen and net income to climb 9.3% to 87 billion yen.

Suzuki Motor Corp gained 1.2% to 3,834.50 yen despite the automaker announced a recall of 1,872,903 vehicles in Japan and repairs faulty ignition switch after reports of burning or smoking ignition switches across nine models in Japan.