Consumer Confidence in Japan Fell

123jump.com Staff
18 Jan, 2008
New York City

Consumer confidence in Japan fell in December according to a report from the Cabinet Office. Rising food and energy prices and stagnant wages and economy has left consumers on the edge. The index fell in December to 38 from 39.8 in November. Nikkei 225 stocks rose 0.56% or 77.84 to 13,861.29 and the broader Topix Index increased 11.06 to 1,341.50. Nippon Paper Goup led the decliners in the Nikkei 225 index with a loss of 11% after it violated the goverment rule on recycled paper.

[R]5:00AM New York, 7:00PM Tokyo - Japan consumer confidence falls four year low at 38 in December.[/R]

Stocks in Japan edged higher on the expectations that U.S. economy may respond to potential stimulus package from the U.S. government.

In Tokyo trading Nikkei 225 stocks rose 0.56% or 77.84 to 13,861.29, while the broader Topix Index increased 11.06 to 1,341.50.

In the first section of the Tokyo Stock Exchange 10.3 billion shares worth 1.1 trillion yen were traded and in the second section 346 million shares worth 3.8 billion changed hands.

Of the Nikkei 225 stocks 136 gained, 81 declined, and 8 were unchanged.

The Cabinet Office’s Economic and Research Institute said today that Japan’s consumer confidence index slumped from 39.8 in November to 38 in December, while the index gauging overall livelihood slid to 34.9 from 37.0 in November.

Income growth index fell to 39.6 in December from 40.7 a month ago and employment plummeted from 43.1 in November to 40.6 in December.

The index measuring the willingness to buy durable goods slipped from 38.4 recorded in November to 37 in December.

Of the Nikkei 225 index stocks Sumco Corp led advancers with a gain of 9.42% followed by gains in Mitsui Engineering and Shipbuilding of 9.23%, in Sumitomo Realty of 8.02%, in Comsys Holdings of 7.86%, and in Sumitomo Heavy of 6.89%.

Financial stocks also gained as well. Mitsubishi UFJ Financial Group climbed 0.31%, Mizuho Financial Group gained 1.04% and Resona Holdings jumped 3.53%.

Nippon Paper Group led declining Nikkei 225 index shares with a drop of 10.40% followed by losses in Sumitomo Electric Industries of 5.47%, in OJI Paper Co Limited of 4.69%, in Kikkoman Corporation of 4.64%, and in Millea Holdings of 4.34%.

Paper and pulp makers declined after OJI Paper Company Limited became latest company to announce today it had falsified the amount of recycled materials used to produce printer and photocopier paper.

However President of OJI Paper Company Kazuhisa Shinoda said that the prior use of less recycled materials will not affect earnings.

This week Nippon Paper Group said it had falsified data on paper products since 1996 to make it look as if it was complying with the mandatory recycled volume requirements.

Nippon Paper President Masatomo Nakamura also added that he will step down as a result.

Nissin Seifun Group, the parent company of Nisshin Foods, said today it will increase wholesale prices by 40%.

Bloomberg news reported today that Morgan Stanley has raised 50.2 billion yen from the sale of yen denominated bond sale to strengthen its balance sheet