Nikkei and Yen Ease in Quiet Trading

Hiruki Nakamura
25 Dec, 2015
New York City

Nikkei 225 average closed lower in muted trading and the yen edged down against the U.S. dollar. J. Front Retailing reported nine-month sales increased 2.5% and net income soared 79%.

[R]4:30 PM Tokyo – Nikkei 225 average closed lower in muted trading and the yen edged down against the U.S. dollar. J. Front Retailing reported nine-month sales increased 2.5% and net income soared 79%.[/R]

Stocks in Tokyo closed lower in muted trading and the yen eased as world markets remained closed in observance of Christmas Holiday.

The Nikkei 225 Stock Average fell 20.63 to 18,769.06 and the broader Topix index slid 7.43 to 1,516.19.

The yen edged down against the dollar to 120.27.

Stocks in Review

Frontier Real Estate Investment Corp gained 0.6% to 506,000 yen after the real estate developer forecasted revenues for the second-half ending in June 2016 of about 9.97 billion yen and net income of about 4.76 billion yen.

J. Front Retailing Co Ltd increased 2% to 1,847 yen after the apparel retailer reported net sales in the nine-month ending in November jumped 2.5% from a year ago to 849.33 billion yen.

Net income in the period surged 79.6% to 18.45 billion yen compared to 10.27 billion yen and diluted earnings per share increased to 70.35 yen from 38.91 yen in the same period a year ago.

The retailer forecasted net sales for the year ending in February to advance 2.7% to 1.18 trillion yen and net income to soar 27.7% to 25.50 billion yen.

Lasertec Corporation declined 3.3% to 1,276 yen and the company lifted revenues forecast for the year ending in February to soar 27.9% to 6.78 billion yen from the earlier estimate of 5.30 billion yen.

Net income in the period is expected to surge 140% to 600 million yen compared to previous guidance of 250 million yen.

Mitachi Co., Ltd slipped 1.4% to 693 yen after the liquid crystal and electronic parts maker said net sales in the second-quarter ending in November rose 3% from a year ago to 18.09 billion yen.

Net income in the period tumbled 25.3% to 330 million yen compared to 442 million yen and earnings per share dropped to 44.94 yen from 60.16 yen in the same period a year ago.

Nagaileben Co., Ltd slumped 2.4% to 2,040 yen after the medical wear maker stated net sales in the first-quarter ending in November plunged 13.8% from a year ago to 2.58 billion yen.

Net income in the period plummeted 43.2% to 369 million yen compared to 649 million yen and earnings per share declined to 11.10 yen from 18.97 yen in the same period a year ago.