Stocks in Japan and Asia Fall

123jump.com Staff
09 Jun, 2008
New York City

Stocks in Japan and Asia fell tracking the losses in Friday trading in the U.S. Coincidence Index, a measure of current economic activity in Japan fell but an index of leading indicators showed a gain. Economy in Japan has been facing rising food and energy prices and stagnant wages. Resona Holdings led decliners in the Nikkei 225 index shares with a fall of 5.2% followed by losses of 5% in JFE Holdings and in Nomura Holdings, in Tokyo Electron of 4.8%, and Sumitomo Heavy Industries of 4.6%.

[R]5:00AM New York, 7:00PM Tokyo – The stocks in Japan and Asian trading fell after a sharp rise in the U.S. unemployment and record surge and close in crude oil prices. Coincident index fall April.[/R]

Japan stock averages declined on rising concerns on the U.S. economy after the US Bureau of Labor Statistics reported that unemployment rose to 5.5% at the end of May. Rising oil prices also heightened concern on inflationary pressures. U.S. has lost nearly 325,000 jobs in the first five months of this year.

In Tokyo trading Nikkei 225 fell 2.13% or 308.06 at 14,181.38, and the broader Topix index dropped 2.1% or 30.57 at 1,397.54.

In the first section of the Tokyo Stock Exchange 9.6 billion shares worth 1 trillion yen were traded and in the second section 207 million shares valued at 4.05 billion yen changed hands.

Of the Nikkei 225 stocks 14 gained, 209 declined, and 2 were unchanged. GS Yuasa Corp. led advancers in the index shares with a rise of 10.83% followed by Inpex Holdings increasing 3.85% after crude oil prices jumped to record highs.

Unemployment rate rises to 5.5% in May

The US Bureau of Labor Statistics of the U.S. Department of Labor reported on Friday last week on its website that unemployment rose from 5% in April to 5.5% in May as employment continued to decline in construction, manufacturing, retail trade, and temporary help services. Healthcare and education are the only two sectors are increasing payroll.

According to the report, the average hourly earnings rose 5 cents, or 0.3%, from the previous month. Unemployed persons increased by 861,000 to 8.5 million in May, after seasonal adjustment, and the unemployment rate rose by 0.5 percentage point to 5.5%.

On the overall, total employment was little changed at 146 million and the number of persons who worked part time for economic reasons was also unchanged at 5.2 million in May.

G8 group to promote fuel efficiency

The Group of Eight industrialized nations energy ministers said in a joint statement yesterday in Aomori that they will establish an international partnership to promote efficient use of energy.

The G8 Group noted, “Promotion of energy efficiency in both energy supply and demand chains in a cost-effective manner is a necessary prerequisite for addressing energy security and climate change while supporting economic growth.

We will set national goals/objectives and formulate country-specific action plans, in which we will maximize implementation of the recommendations, and publicly report on their progress.”

Coincident index falls in April

The Cabinet Office reported today that Japan’s Coincident Index, which is a measure of current economic activity, declined to 101.7 in April from a revised 102.4 in March, and the Leading Index gained to 92.8 from 90.8 the previous month. Also, the Lagging Index fell to 103 in April from 104.9 a month ago.

Gainers & Losers

GS Yuasa Corp. led advancers in the Nikkei 225 index shares with a rise of 10.83% followed by rises in Inpex Holdings of 3.85%, in Nitto Boseki Co. of 2.29%, in Heiwa Real Estate of 2.14%, and UNY Co Ltd of 1.68%.

Inpex Holdings rose after crude oil prices rose by 8.4% to $138.54 a barrel.

Resona Holdings led decliners in the Nikkei 225 index shares with a fall of 5.18% followed by losses in JFE Holdings of 5.06%, in Nomura Holdings of 4.98%, in Tokyo Electron of 4.76%, and Sumitomo Heavy Industries of 4.60%.

Commodity stocks declined on concern of economic weaknesses in the U.S. Kobe Steel slumped 4.41%. Exporters fell as well. Canon Inc slipped 4.39% and Bridgestone Corp edged down 4.36%

Asian markets decline

In Tokyo Nikkei 225 Index closed lower 308.06 or 2.13% to 14,181.38, in Malaysia KL Composite index decreased 17.59 or 1.41% closed to 1,230.98. Market of Hong Kong and Australia were closed today.

In South Korea Kospi Index decreased 23.35 or 1.27% to close at 1,808.96, in Thailand SET index closed lower 11.75 or 1.44% to 805.58 and Indonesia JSE Index edged increased 7.84 or 0.33% to 2,410.08. Sensex index in India decreased 506.08 or 3.25% to 15,066.10.