Tokyo and Asia Edge Higher

123jump.com Staff
30 Nov, 2007
New York City

Stocks in Tokyo edged higher on the overnight strength in the U.S. market. Core consumer prices in November rose 0.3% from a year ago and from October on rising food and energy cost. Unemployment rate hovered around 4% in October as construction industry employment dropped sharply. Japan housing starts in otober dropped 35% from a year ago on revised building code.

[R]4:00AM New York, 6:00PM Tokyo - U.S. interest rate cut speculation lifts Tokyo up 1.08%. Core consumer prices rise 0.1% in October. Housing starts fell 35% dragged by permits backlogs.[/R]

In Tokyo trading Nikkei 225 rose 1.08% or 166.93 to 15,680.67, while the broader Topix Index gained 14.71 to 1.531.88.

In the first section of the Tokyo Stock Exchange 10 billion shares worth 1.1 trillion yen were traded and in the second section 316 million shares valued at 5.9 billion yen changed hands.

Of the Nikkei 225 index shares 166 gained, 52 declined, and 7 were unchanged.

Isuzu Motors led advancers rising 9.32%, followed by Nippon Steel, climbing 8.54% after Credit Suisse raised the rating of steel makers to “market weight” from “underweight”.

Financial stocks also gained after U.S. Federal Reserve Chairman Ben Bernanke said yesterday the risks on economic outlook were “even greater than usual”, increasing expectations that borrowing costs will be slashed at the December 11 meeting. Mitsubishi UFJ Financial Group edged up 1.21% and Mizuho Financial Group jumped 2.06%.

Japan’s Ministry of International Affairs and Communications Statistics Bureau reported today the core consumer price index for Japan was up 100.9 or 0.3% for September and for the Ku-area in Tokyo the core consumer price index for November leapt 0.3% from October and 0.3% from last year.

Food prices in October surged 0.2% from previous month and 0.9% over the previous year, with housing remaining unchanged at 99.8. Fuel, light and water charges was 0.7% on October for the month and 1.0% for the year. In addition, clothing and footwear firmed 1.1% for the month and 0.3% from the previous year, while transport and communications further gained 0.3% in the month and 0.7% over the previous.

The Statistics Bureau that for core consumer prices for the Ku-area of Tokyo food prices slipped 1.4% in November and firmed 0.6% for the year. Food, light and water charges, transportation and communications rose 1.4% and 0.7% for the year respectively, while clothes and footwear dipped 0.1% for the year in November.

According to the statistics, the unemployment rose by a seasonally adjusted 4.0% in October, while the number of persons employed fell 0.2% in October to 64.25 million. The laborforce stood at 66.94 million with 64.24 million employed and 55.23 million are classified as employees.

Furthermore, monthly consumer spending per household for two or more person household rose 0.6% to 296,984 yen in October. Similarly, average monthly income per household was gauged up 0.4% in real terms to 469,981 yen and consumption expenditures was up 2.2% to 326,737 yen.

The Ministry of Land, Infrastructure and Transport said today Japan housing starts tumbled 35% to 851,000 units from a year earlier. September starts dropped 44%, a 40-year record.

Of the Nikkei 225 index shares, Isuzu Motors led gainers with a rise of 9.32%, followed by gains of 8.54% in Nippon Steel, 7.80% in Sumitomo Metal Mining, 6.80 in Trend Micro Incorporated, and 6.40% in Mitsumi Electric Company.

Shipping lines also gained as the Baltic Index firmed 1.7% yesterday driven by expectations demand for raw materials in emerging economies will remain. Kawasaki Kisen rose 5.20% and Kawasaki Heavy Industries climbed 2.54% as a result.

Meiji Dairies led the decliners in the Nikkei 225 index shares with a decline of 4.27%, followed by losses in Daiichi Sankyo Company of 3.61%, in Mitsui Sumitomo Financial Group of 3.45%, in Chiba Bank of 3.16%, and in Yahoo Japan of 2.74%.

Nikkei news reported today Daiichi Sankyo Company would divest its entire holding in subsidiary Nippon Nyukazai Company and its 52% shareholding in Sino-Japan Chemical at the end of February 2008. The company wants to concentrate on its pharmaceutical business.