Nikkei Drops 1.9%, China-Related Stocks Lead Decliners Again

Hiruki Nakamura
14 Oct, 2015
New York City

Nikkei in Tokyo dropped 1.9% and fell below 18,000 mark for the first time in two weeks. China-related stocks declined for the second day after the second largest economy reported mixed trade data.

[R]4:30 PM Tokyo – Nikkei in Tokyo dropped 1.9% and fell below 18,000 mark for the first time in two weeks. China-related stocks declined for the second day after the second largest economy reported mixed trade data.[/R]

Stocks in Tokyo dropped following the weak market closures in New York and in Europe after China reported mixed trade data.

China-related stocks lost ground led by industrial equipment makers including Fanuc Corp, Nippon Steel, Hitachi Corp and Murata Manufacturing.

On the economic front, M2 money stock in September jumped 3.8% to 910.5 trillion yen but decline from 4.2% in a previous month, the Bank of Japan said.

M3 money stock increased 3.1% to 1,227.2 trillion yen but slumped from 3.4% in August.

The Nikkei 225 Stock Average declined 343.74 or 1.9% to 17,891 and the broader Topix index slumped 32.30 or 2.2% to 1,470.83.

The yen strengthened to 119.50 against a dollar.

Stocks in Review

Bic Camera Inc jumped 2.7% to 1,074 yen after the audio and visual products retailer said net sales in the year ending in August declined 4.5% from a year ago to 795.37 billion yen.

Net income in the quarter tumbled 30.9% to 6.80 billion yen compared to 9.85 billion yen and diluted earnings per share slumped to 36.25 yen from 56.39 yen.

For the first-half, the company estimated net sales to increase 3.4% to 407 billion yen and net income to jump 4.7% to 5.10 billion yen.

The retailer forecasted net sales for the year to increase 3.1% to 820 billion yen and net income to soar 73.4% to 11.80 billion yen.

Ichigo Inc fell 0.6% to 313 yen after the real estate developer reported net sales in the first-half ending in August soared 47.9% from a year ago to 14.61 billion yen.

Net income in the quarter surged 69.5% to 4.22 billion yen compared to 2.49 billion yen and diluted earnings per share nearly double to 8.39 yen from 4.95 yen.

The retailer forecasted net sales for the year to jump 10.1% to 47 billion yen and net income to advance 62.7% to 11 billion yen.

Nikon Corporation declined 5.3% to 1,494 yen after the Nikkei business daily reported image and video equipment maker’s group sales in the first-half ending in September to jump 4% to 390 billion yen.

The company’s operating profit for the period plunged 27% to 9.5 billion yen.

Toho Co Ltd jumped 3.9% to 3,010 yen after the movie distributor reported net sales in the first-half ending in August surged 14.5% from a year ago to 123.87 billion yen.

Net income in the quarter soared 13.4% to 15.81 billion yen compared to 13.94 billion yen and earnings per share jumped to 85.65 yen from 75.36 yen.

The company estimated net sales for the year to advance 3.4% to 214 billion yen and net income to increase 2.3% to 23 billion yen.

Yamato Holdings Co., Ltd dropped 2.5% to 2,427 yen after the Nikkei news said the logistic company’s revenue in the first-half ending in September increased 1% to 680 billion yen, lower than the earlier estimate of 689 billion yen.

The delivery company also said it will exit from delivering small packages to mailboxes at the end of the fiscal year in March.

The company operating profit in the first-half slumped 6% to 20 billion yen compared to the forecast of 22 billion yen.

The earnings were affected by the delays in maritime shipment related problems after a fire on automobile ferry off the coast of Hokkaido caused additional expenses to ship cargo through ground services.