Panasonic, Fujitsu Lead Tokyo Gains

123jump.com Staff
24 Jul, 2009
New York City

Global rally in stocks lifted Tokyo benchmark index. Fujitsu increased for the second day after offering target for record earnings in fiscal 2011. Panasonic gained 8% on broker recommendation. Shipping companies increased. Japan Tobacco dropped for the second day on the prospect of higher taxes.

[R]6:00 PM Tokyo, 4:00 AM New York – Global rally in stocks lifted Tokyo benchmark index. Fujitsu increased for the second day after offering target for record earnings in fiscal 2011. Panasonic gained 8% on broker recommendation. Shipping companies increased. Japan Tobacco dropped for the second day on the prospect of higher taxes. Advantest added 4% on higher order estimate.[/R]

Stocks in Tokyo edged higher after earnings and housing market report lifted stock in New York trading.

Shipping companies and electronics exporters led gainers in trading. The Nikkei 225 Stock Average in Tokyo closed higher 151.61 or 1.55% to 9,944.55. Stocks opened higher on the global markets strength but drifted in the afternoon ahead of heavy earnings season for the next two weeks.

Of the Nikkei 225 index, 175 increased, 38 decreased and 12 were unchanged.

Gainers & Losers

Fujitsu Ltd increased 4.1% to 565 yen, a second day gain after it issued fiscal 2011 target on revenues and earnings.

Advantest Corp increased 4.4% to 1,877 yen after Nikkei newspaper estimated sharp increase in orders in the quarter to June. The newspaper estimated that orders reached 10 billion yen in the quarter.

Panasonic Corp increased 8.4% to 1,390 yen after JP Morgan Chase lifted its rating on the company on the prospect of higher sales in the emerging markets and issued a target price of 2,000 yen.

Shipping companies and metal and mining companies increased on the prospects of faster global economic recovery.

Kawasaki Kisen KK increased 3.3% to 377 yen, Nippon Yusen increased 3.7% to 418 yen and Mitusii OSK Lines added 3.5% to 621 yen. Nippon Steel increased 1.4% to 362 yen and JFE Holdings decreased 0.3% to 3,270 yen.

Japan Tobacco declined 2.8% to 252,600 yen, a second day decline after the opposition party proposed to increase cigarette taxes if voted to run the government.

KDDI Corp decreased 1.4% to 505,000 yen after it reported first quarter revenues declined 1.9% to 853 billion yen compared to 870 billion yen a year ago quarter. Earnings increased 19% to 86.4 billion yen compared to 72.45 billion yen in the quarter a year ago.

Mobile business net revenues surged 96% to 273.1 billion yen.

Nikkei 200 Average Movers

CSK Holdings Corporation led the decliners in the Nikkei 225 index of 3.3% followed by losses in Japan Tobacco Inc of 2.8%, in Seven & I Holdings Co Ltd of 2.0%, in Sumitomo Osaka Cement Co Ltd of 1.5% and in Chugai Pharmaceutical Co Ltd of 1.4%.

Mitsumi Electric Co Ltd led gainers in the Nikkei 225 index with a rise of 8.6% followed by gains in Panasonic Corp of 8.3%, in Nitto Boseki Co Ltd of 5.4% and NEC Corp of 4.8%.

Asian Markets Review

The Nikkei 225 Index in Tokyo closed higher 151.61 or 1.55% to 9,944.55, Hang Seng index in Hong Kong increased 165.09 or 0.83% to 19,982.79 and CSI 300 index in China higher 15.59 or 0.43% to 3,667.56. ASX 200 index in Australia increased 25.70 or 0.63% to 4,089.80. The FTSE Bursa KL Composite index in Malaysia closed higher 3.73 or 0.32% to 1,155.88.

The Kospi Index in South Korea increased 6.10 or 0.41% to close at 1,502.59. SET index in Thailand closed higher 2.05 or 0.33% to 614.24 and JSE Index in Indonesia increased 24.94 or 1.15% to 2,185.65. The Sensex index in India increased 147.92 or 0.97% to 15,378.96.