Nikkei Drops 2.5%; Yokogawa Plunges 15%

123jump.com Staff
18 May, 2009
New York City

Strong yen and weak operating net from Panasonic and Yokogawa Electric dragged the benchmark index Nikkei 225 lower 2.5%. Yokogawa led the decliners in the index with a loss of 15%. Suzuki Motors and Kansai Paint gained after the reelection of ruling coalition in India where they lead markets.

[R]8:00PM Tokyo – Strong yen and weak operating results from Panasonic and Yokogawa Electric dragged the benchmark index Nikkei 225 lower 2.5%.[/R]

Stocks in Japan fell after Panasonic reported a loss and forecasted loss in the current fiscal year. Yokogawa Electric also reported weak sales and operating results.

Investors were also concerned after weak economic conditions in Europe and prospect of further weakness in the current quarter. The EU reported economic shrinkage of 2.5% in the first quarter and estimates weak outlook in the current quarter.

The Nikkei 225 Index in Tokyo closed lower 226.33 or 2.44% to 9,038.69.

Gainers & Losers

Mizuho Financial Group declined 3.8% to 228 yen after it reported revenues in the fiscal year 2008 declined 22% and reported net loss of 588 billion yen.

Panasonic declined 7.6% to 1,344 yen after it reported a loss of 379 billion yen in the fiscal year ending in March 2009 on revenues decline of 14% to 7.7 trillion yen. The company estimates sales in the current fiscal year to decline 10% to 7 trillion yen and net loss of 195 billion yen.

Kansai Paint Company Ltd soared 3.1% to 603 yen on the back of election results in India. Kansai holds a leading market share for paints in India and the political stability is likely to foster higher economic growth in India.

Mitsubishi Financial Group Inc declined 3.4% to 592 yen after it reported one of its employees contracted swine flu. The country has now 125 confirmed cases of deadly flue and WHO may raise its alert to the highest level.

Suzuki Motor Corp surged 2% to 2,040 yen after election in India voted the in favor of the ruling coalition bringing continuity. Suzuki through its Maruti brand has nearly 50% market share of automobiles in India.

Yokogawa Electric dropped 14.5% after it reported net loss for the fiscal year ending in March 2009 38.4 billion yen and sales declined to 377 billion yen from 455 billion yen a year ago.

Nikkei 200 Average Movers

Yokogawa Electric Corporation led the decliners in the Nikkei 225 index of 14.5% followed by losses in J. Front Retailing Co., Ltd of 9.3%, in Sumitomo Osaka Cement Co., Ltd. of 7.9%, in Panasonic Corporation of 7.6% and in Fuji Electric Holdings Co Ltd of 7.0%.

Unitika Ltd. led gainers in the Nikkei 225 index with a rise of 18.4% followed by gains in Toyobo Co. Ltd. of 7.0%, in Nippon Soda Co., Ltd, of 5.8% and Mitsubishi Rayon Company, Limited of 4.7%.

Asian Markets Review

The Nikkei 225 Index in Tokyo closed lower 226.33 or 2.44% to 9,038.69, Hang Seng index in Hong Kong increased 232.21 or 1.38% closed to 17,022.91, CSI 300 index in China higher 14.46 or 0.52% closed to 2,810.57. ASX 200 index in Australia decreased 37.60 or 1.00% closed to 3,735.60. The KL Composite index in Malaysia lower 2.20 or 0.22% closed to 1,012.01.

The Kospi Index in South Korea decreased 5.05 or 0.36% to close at 1,386.68. SET index in Thailand closed higher 6.30 or 1.18% to 540.22 and JSE Index in Indonesia increased 52.65 or 3.01% closed to 1,803.57. The Sensex index in India increased 2,110.79 or 17.34% closed to 14,284.21.