Nikkei Lacks Direction, Yen Struggles

Hiruki Nakamura
05 Jun, 2015
New York City

Nikkei in Tokyo closed down and the yen traded near 12-year low as investors stayed cautious ahead of U.S. jobs data release on Friday. Tokyo Corporation launched a share buyback program. Kirin and Suntory are investing to increase production in the U.S.

[R]4:30 PM Tokyo – Nikkei in Tokyo closed down and the yen traded near 12-year low as investors stayed cautious ahead of U.S. jobs data release on Friday. Tokyo Corporation launched a share buyback program. Kirin and Suntory are investing to increase production in the U.S.[/R]

Stocks in Tokyo edged lower and market indexes drifted and closed down in listless trading as investors took a cautious view of ahead of jobs data release in the U.S.

The foreign reserves assets declined in May to $1.246 trillion from $1.250 trillion in April and from $1.284 trillion in a year ago month, the Ministry of Finance said today.

The Nikkei 225 Stock Average fell 27.29 to 20,460.90 and the broader Topix index slid 7.43 to 1,666.46.

For the week, Nikkei 225 slipped 0.5%.

The yen closed at 124.47 against a dollar.

Stocks in Review

Kirin Holdings Co Ltd gained 0.7% to 1,773 yen after the Nikkei daily said alcoholic beverages and soft drinks maker and Suntory Holdings are increasing production in the U.S. to meet global demand.

Suntory invested 8 billion yen and Kirin plans to invest about 7 billion yen to double its production capacity at its Kentucky-based distilleries.

Mitsui Fudosan Co Ltd fell 0.6% to 3,531.50 yen after the British Broadcasting Corporation agreed to sell a land parcel of 69,000 square meters in London with an estimated cost of 400 billion yen or $3.19 billion.

Under a mid-term business plan for 2017, the company will invest 550 billion yen in its overseas operations.

Mazda Motor Corp rose 0.3% to 2,725.50 yen after the auto maker said it will recall 75,000 cars in Japan to replace air bag inflators made by Takata and total worldwide recall reached to 811,000 vehicles.

Tokyu Corporation jumped 2.4% to 824 yen after the transportation services provider launched share buyback program for up to 15 million shares or as much as 10 billion yen, equivalent to 1.20% of total outstanding shares between May 14 and August 14.

Sharp Corporation slid 0.6 to 171 yen after Kyodo News reported that the struggling electronics maker may report a net loss in the fiscal year ending in March 2016 of about 180 billion yen.