Toyota Lowers Loss Estimate; Yamaha Plunges

Mayank Mehta
04 Aug, 2009
New York City

Toyota lowered annual loss estimate and revised higher annual unit sales. Yamaha plunged after it estimated sharply higher annual loss. Idemitsu Kosan, the crude oil refiner sales fell and reported net loss in the quarter.

[R]8:00 PM Tokyo, 6:00 AM New York – Toyota lowered annual loss estimate and revised higher annual unit sales. Yamaha plunged after it estimated sharply higher annual loss. Idemitsu Kosan, the crude oil refiner sales fell and reported net loss in the quarter.[/R]

Stocks in Japan traded higher as earnings optimism in Japan, China and the U.S. lifted trading sentiment.

The Nikkei 225 Index in Tokyo closed higher 22.54 or 0.22% to 10,375.01.

Gainers & Losers

Expectations of global markets recovery and stabilization of financial markets lifted stocks of trading houses and financial services companies.

Mitsui & Company increased 5.7% to 1,247 yen and Mitsubishi Corp increased 2.1% to 1,956 yen.

Toyota Motor Corp decreased 1.5% to 4,030 yen after first quarter revenues fell 38.3% to ¥3.84 trillion from ¥6.22 trillion a year ago. Net loss in the quarter was ¥77.8 billion or ¥24.82 per diluted share compared to net income of ¥353.7 billion or ¥112.28 per share a year ago.

For the year the automaker estimates a net loss of 450 billion yen compared to 550 billion yen of earlier estimate. The company also lifted its total sales forecast by 100,000 to 6.6 million in the current fiscal year.

Yamaha Motor Company plunged 10% to 1,096 yen after it reported fiscal first quarter revenues declined 19.3% to 99.4 billion yen and net loss of 2.9 billion yen compared to 1.06 billion yen a year ago.

Daihatsu Motor Company dropped 7.3% to 983 yen after stocks in the auto sector fell and rating downgrade by Goldman Sachs. Nissan Motor Company decreased 4.4% to 694 yen.

Suzuki Motor Corp dropped 5% to 2,300 yen after first quarter sales declined 37% to 577 billion yen and net income plunged 92% to 2.14 billion yen. In the quarter, sales in India increased 18% and vehicle sales rose 10%. The company controls more than 50% stake in the Indian operation.

Investors cautiously acquired shares in financial and insurance companies after interbank lending stabilized and loan premiums declined to the levels last seen in March 2007.

T&D Marine increased 2.9% to 2,975 yen and Marine Holdings Inc increased 1.2% to 2,855 yen.

Idemitsu Kosan dropped 2.2% to 7,780 yen after first quarter sales declined 35.3% to 674 billion yen and net loss of 3.2 billion yen. The oil refiner estimated first half profit of 13 billion yen compared to previous estimate of 10 billion yen.

Nikkei 200 Average Movers

Japan Steel Works Ltd led the decliners in the Nikkei 225 index of 5.2% followed by losses in Suzuki Motor Corp of 4.9%, in Mizuho Securities Co Ltd of 4.4%, in Nissan Motor Co Ltd of 4.4% and in Sumitomo Chemical Co Ltd of 3.8%.

Kawasaki Kisen Kaisha Ltd led gainers in the Nikkei 225 index with a rise of 5.9% followed by gains in Mitsui & Co Ltd of 5.6%, in Credit Saison Co Ltd 5.1% and Sumitomo Metal Mining Co Ltd of 4.6%.

Asian Markets Review

The Nikkei 225 Index in Tokyo closed higher 22.54 or 0.22% to 10,375.01, Hang Seng index in Hong Kong decreased 10.83 or 0.05% to 20,796.43 and CSI 300 index in China lower 0.42 or 0.01% to 3,786.62. ASX 200 index in Australia increased 45.90 or 1.08% to 4,309.30. The FTSE Bursa KL Composite index in Malaysia closed higher 8.57 or 0.73% to 1,179.88.

The Kospi Index in South Korea increased 1.39 or 0.09% to close at 1,566.37. SET index in Thailand closed lower 0.20 or 0.03% to 641.23 and JSE Index in Indonesia increased 21.30 or 0.91% to 2,360.09. The Sensex index in India decreased 93.25 or 0.59% to 15,830.98.