Nikkei Extends Weekly Gains, Fast Retailing Plunges 4%

Hiruki Nakamura
03 Jul, 2015
New York City

Two widely followed indexes in Japan closed higher on Friday and extended weekly gains as investors focused on domestic and regional news. Fast Retailing plunged after the apparel retailer reported sharp decline in same-store sales. Family Mart first-quarter sales rose 12%.

[R]4:30 PM Tokyo – Two widely followed indexes in Japan closed higher on Friday and extended weekly gains as investors focused on domestic and regional news. Fast Retailing plunged after the apparel retailer reported sharp decline in same-store sales. Family Mart first-quarter sales rose 12%.[/R]

Market indexes in Japan closed higher and extended weekly rise as investors stayed calm to growing uncertainties in the euro zone.

The Nikkei 225 Stock Average rose 17.29 to 20,539.79 and the broader Topix index added 3.85 to 1,652.09.

For the week the Nikkei average increased 0.8% and the Topix index rose 0.9%.

The yen closed at 123.08 against a dollar.

Stocks in Review

Asahi Group Holdings Ltd slid 0.3% to 3,793 yen after the Nikkei news report estimated the beverage maker’s group sales for the first-half ending in June to increase 5% to 850 billion yen and operating profit to gain 3% to a record 45 billion yen.

Asahi is schedule to release its earnings results for the period on August 5.

Fast Retailing Co Ltd declined 3.7% to 55,740 yen after the retailer said same-store sales at its Uniqlo clothing outlets in June plunged 11.7% and sales at directly-run stores slumped 11.5%.from a year ago month.

The retailer added total sales including online sales plummeted 10.9%.

FamilyMart Co Ltd gained 1.2% to 5,760 yen after the convenience store operator reported net sales in the first-quarter ending in May jumped 11.9% to 99.20 billion yen from 88.64 billion yen in a year ago period.

Net income in the quarter tumbled 75.7% to 3.40 billion yen compared to 14.02 billion yen but operating profit climbed 23% to 11.1 billion yen in the same period a year ago.

TOSEI Corporation rose 0.9% to 939 yen after the real estate developer said revenues in the first-half ending in May climbed 9.2% to 22.34 billion yen from 20.46 billion yen in a year ago period.

Net income in the period surged more than double to 2.65 billion yen compared to 1.29 billion yen and earnings per share jumped to 54.97 yen from 26.68 yen in the same period a year ago.

The company forecasted revenues in the year ending in November to increase 3% to 51.50 billion yen and net income to soar 23.7% to 3.55 billion yen.

Wakita & Co., LTD increased 0.8% to 1,252 yen after the civil engineering and construction machinery provider said net sales in the first-quarter ending in May rose 2.7% to 15.38 billion yen from 14.97 billion yen in a year ago period.

Net income in the quarter edged down 0.3% to 1.52 billion yen compared to 1.52 billion yen and earnings per share increased to 111.06 yen from 111.84 yen in the same period a year ago.