Wages Edge Higher, Realtors Rebound

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

Japan benchmark index increased on rising commodity stocks after Mitsubishi UFJ Securities upgraded rating on Sumitomo Metal Industries. Investors sought property developers stocks after a recent sell-off sparked by Urban Corp bankruptcy last week. In Tokyo trading Nikkei 225 rose 1.12% to 13,165.45, and the broader Topix Index jumped 1.3% to 1,263.75. Total wages increased 0.4% to 467,938 yen in June, and contractual cash earnings gained 0.2% to 270,712 yen.

[R]5:00AM New York, 7:00PM Tokyo - Japan’s June wages rise by a revised 0.4% in June.[/R]

Japan benchmark index increased on rising commodity stocks after Mitsubishi UFJ Securities upgraded rating on Sumitomo Metal Industries.

Investors sought property developers stocks after a recent sell-off sparked by Urban Corp bankruptcy last week.

Market Sentiment

In Tokyo trading Nikkei 225 rose 1.12% or 146.04 to 13,165.45, and the broader Topix Index jumped 1.3% or 16.44 to 1,263.75.

In the first section of the Tokyo Stock Exchange 8.6 billion shares valued at 927 billion yen were traded and in the second section 151 million shares worth 2 billion yen changed hands.

Of the Nikkei 225 stocks 183 rose, 36 declined, and 6 were unchanged. Sumitomo Metal Industries led advancers in the index shares with a rise of 7.37% after Mitsubishi UFJ Securities Co upgraded the stock to “outperform” from “ market perform”.

Wages Rise 0.4% in June

Japan Ministry of Health, Labour and Welfare reported on its Web site today in the final report on the monthly labor survey for June that total wages increased 0.4% to 467,938 yen in June, and contractual cash earnings gained 0.2% to 270,712 yen.

Scheduled cash earnings advanced 0.1% to 251,437 yen, but non-scheduled cash earnings remained unchanged at 19,275 yen. Also special cash earnings climbed 0.9% to 197,226 yen in the review period.

The labor ministry also noted that the total hours worked declined 1.5% to 154 hours, while scheduled and non-scheduled hours plummeted 1.5% to 143.5 hours and 1.8% to 10.5 hours respectively.

In addition, regular employment climbed 1.5% to 45.1 million and full time employees rose 1.5% to 33.3 million. Part-time employees gained 1.6% to 11.7 million.

LNG Prices From Indonesia to Rise 50%

The Nikkei News reported today on its Web site that PT Pertamina- Indonesia’s state-controlled company, is set to increase the price of liquefied natural gas by 50% when it renews its long-term contracts with Japanese companies when they expire in 2012 and 2011.

Gainers & Losers

Sumitomo Metal Industries led advancers in the Nikkei 225 index shares with a rise of 7.37% followed by rises in Marui Group of 5.58%, Mitsubishi Rayon Co. of 5.42%, in Nippon Telegraph of 4.97%, and Heiwa Real Estate of 4.84%.

Other commodity stock rose as well. Mitsubishi Corp. rallied 3.41%, Nippon Light Metal gained 3.27% and Nippon Mining House edged up 3.25%.

Mazda led decliners in the Nikkei 225 index shares with a fall of 2.52% followed by losses in Fuji Heavy Industries of 2.41%, in Matsui Securities of 2.17%, in Kumagai Gumi Co. of 1.69%, and Fujitsu Ltd of 1.58%.

Utilities also slumped. Tokyo Electric Power slid 1.3% and Chubu Electric Power declined 1.16%.

Central Japan Railway to Raise Stake in Nippon Sharyo to 50.1%

Bloomberg News reported on its Web site today that Central Japan Railway is offering to pay 370 yen per share to shore up its stake in Nippon Sharyo to 50.1% from 1.8%.

Asian Markets Review

The Nikkei 225 Index in Tokyo closed higher 146.04 or 1.12% to 13,165.45, Hang Seng index in Hong Kong decreased 229.91 or 1.09% closed to 20,930.67. ASX 200 index in Australia increased 3.30 or 0.07% to close 4,985.00. The KL Composite index in Malaysia decreased 10.69 or 0.98% closed to 1,084.36.

The Kospi Index in South Korea decreased 4.48 or 0.28% to close at 1,567.71, SET index in Thailand closed lower 10.25 or 1.45% to 697.23 The Sensex index in India decreased 78.52 or 0.53% closed to 14,645.66. Markets of Indonesia were closed today.