Nikkei Falls to 5-Week Low and Extends 3-Day Losses

Hiruki Nakamura
10 Dec, 2015
New York City

The Nikkei average extended 3-day losses and the referenced index dropped to a five-week low after the yen advanced. The producer price index in November fell 0.1%.

[R]4:30 PM Tokyo – The Nikkei average extended 3-day losses and the referenced index dropped to a five-week low after the yen advanced. The producer price index in November fell 0.1%.[/R]

The Nikkei average dropped for a third consecutive day and declined to a five-week low after the yen strengthened and crude oil extended six-day slide.

The yen jumped to three-month high as traders speculated that the rising glut in the oil market may lead to more uneven economic growth in the U.S.

Stronger yen makes Japanese products less competitive in the world markets with the growing competition from China and Korea.

Shares of export-oriented companies, including Canon, Honda, Mazda, Sony, and Toyota, were among the largest decliners on Thursday.

The producer price index declined at a slower pace of 0.1% in November after falling at 0.6% in October, the Bank of Japan said.

On an annual basis, the producer price index declined 3.6%.

Export prices fell 0.3% compared to the previous month and declined 6.7% from a year ago month.

The Nikkei 225 Stock Average declined 254.52 or 1.3% to 19,046.55 and the broader Topix index slumped 15.23 to 1,540.35.

The yen surged against the dollar to 121.67.

Stocks in Review

MonotaRO Co.,Ltd slumped 2.8% to 3,355 yen after the online factory materials supplier said total sales in November dropped 5.7% from the previous month to 4.91 billion yen.

Sales soared 27.5% from a year ago month to 4.91 billion yen.

Senshu Electric Co slipped 1% to 1,703 yen after the cable maker reported net sales in the year ending in October edged up 0.3% from a year ago to 76.13 billion yen.

Net income in the year declined 5.6% to 1.57 billion yen and diluted earnings per share decreased to 150.11 yen from 158.82 yen from in the previous year.

The company forecasted net sales in the year to jump 3.4% to 78.70 billion and net income to surge 19.7% to 1.88 billion yen.

Samco Inc gained 0.4% to 1,016 yen after the electronic part maker said net sales in the first-quarter ending in October doubled to 1.40 billion yen from the comparable year-ago period.

Net in the quarter swung to profit of 113 million yen, compared to a loss of 106 million yen. Diluted earnings per share swung to profit of 15.01 yen from a loss of 15.16 yen per share in the same period a year ago.

TYO Inc declined 3.3% to 234 yen after the television marketing services provider said net sales in the first-quarter ending in October increased 2.9% from a year ago to 5.45 billion yen.

Net in the quarter tumbled to a loss of 133 million yen, compared to profit of 207 million yen. Diluted loss per share fell to 2.14 yen from diluted earnings per share of 3.33 yen in the same period a year ago.

The company forecasted net sales in the year ending in July 2016 to increase 12.7% to 32 billion and net income to jump 7.2% to 1.20 billion yen.