Nikkei In Tokyo Traded Sideways; Sony, Yokohama Rubber, and Nitori In Focus After Earnings Results

Akira Ito
15 May, 2024
Tokyo

Stocks and market indexes in Tokyo edged higher, tracking gains in overnight trading in New York. 

Market sentiment was positive in Tokyo despite the hotter-than-expected U.S. producer price inflation in April, suggesting that the Federal Reserve may keep high interest rates for longer. 

The Japanese yen dropped by 0.2% to 156.24 against the U.S. dollar after the inflation report highlighted the possibility that a wide interest rate gap between the U.S. and Japan is likely to persist for a long time. 

Investors are now looking forward to the release of the consumer price inflation report later in the day, and economists are anticipating the annual inflation rate to hover around 3.2%. 

The Nikkei 225 Stock Average increased 0.1% to 38,391.08, and the Topix index edged up 0.1% to 2,732.38. 

Sony Group Corp. soared 9.8% to ¥13,035.0 after the company said its quarterly profit advanced following the strong performance in its movie and game business. 

Tech stocks traded higher following the gains in overnight trading in New York. 

Tokyo Electron, Advantest, Screen Holdings, and Socinext gained between 1% and 3%. 

Banks traded mixed, and Mitsubishi UFJ declined 0.5% to ¥1,597.50, while Mizuho Financial and Sumitomo Mitsui edged higher by 0.45. 

Isetan Mitsukoshi soared 13% to ¥2,642.0 after the department store operator's operating earnings outlook surpassed market expectations. 

The retailer estimated fiscal fourth quarter revenue to increase 12% to 134.67 billion yen and net income to advance 91% to 24.47 billion yen. 

A weak yen and a surge in tourism supported the sharp gains in retail store chain sales. 

Sales of high-value-added products continued to drive sales, particularly at the Isetan Shinjuku Main Store, Mitsukoshi Nihombashi Main Store, and Mitsukoshi Ginza Store, with year-on-year sales growth of 115.2% for the total of Isetan Mitsukoshi Ltd. and 111.3% for the total of domestic department stores, the company said in a note to investors. 

In addition, both main stores and the Mitsukoshi Ginza Store have outperformed fiscal 2018 for ten consecutive months.

Yokohama Rubber advanced 5.2% to ¥4,158.0 after the company reported another record quarterly sales. 

Revenue in the March quarter increased 23.5% to 252.4 billion yen, net income advanced 104% to 19.8 billion yen from 9.7 billion yen, and diluted earnings per share rose to 123.15 yen from 60.39 yen. 

Nitori Holdings plunged 17% to ¥17,805.0 after the home furnishing retailer reported lower than expected sales in the March quarter. 

Revenue in the quarter fell to 232.05 yen compared to expectations of 236.98 billion yen, and net income declined to 18 billion yen, falling short of the expectation of 26.7 billion yen. 

For the full-year 2024, sales declined 5.5% to 895.7 billion yen from 948.1 billion yen, net income attributable to shareholders fell 9% to 86.5 billion yen from 95.1 billion yen, and basic earnings per share fell to 765.62 yen from 841.92 yen a year ago.