Japan Power Demand Surges; Dai-ichi IPO

Darlington Musarurwa
19 Mar, 2010
New York City

Stocks in Tokyo closed higher as the prospect of economic and exports recovery solidify. Japan

[R]5:00 AM New York, 7:00 PM Tokyo – Stocks in Tokyo closed higher as the prospect of economic and exports recovery solidify. Japan’s corporate power demand surged 17.7% in February but department store sales declined 5.4%. Dai-ichi Mutual Life Insurance Co. is expected to price its $12 billion public offering this weekend.[/R]

Japan’s market averages rose for the sixth straight week as investors cheered news that the U.S industrial production rose and the unemployment rate held at 9.7% in February, stocking expectations that the global economy is recovering.

Commodity stocks rose as well as gold prices firm on renewed concern on the Greece debt crisis.

In Tokyo trading Nikkei 225 Stock Average rose 0.8% or 80.69 to 10,824.72 and 0.7% for the week and the broader Topix Index gained 0.9% to 948.93.

Of the stocks in Nikkei 225 Stock Average, 166 increased, 42 declined and 17 was unchanged.

In the first section of the Tokyo Stock Exchange 8.1 billion shares worth 525 billion yen were traded and in the second section 136 million shares valued at 1.9 billion yen changed hands.

Of the Nikkei 225 index stocks, 166 rose, 42 fell, and 17 were unchanged. Nippon Light Metal led advancers in the index shares with a rise of 5.5% followed by Taiyo Yuden jumping 4.3%.

U.S Jobs Hold Steady, Industrial Production Rises

U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics reported today that the number of unemployed persons, at 14.9 million, was essentially unchanged, and the unemployment rate remained at 9.7%.

The number of long-term unemployed- those jobless for 27 weeks and over- was 6.1 million in February.

Separately, industrial production jumped 0.1% in February, rising for the eighth straight month.

Power Demand Rises 17.7% in Feb

The Federation of Electric Power Companies of Japan reported that preliminary corporate power demand among large firms rose 17.7% to 21.22 billion kilowatt-hours in February.

Demand was driven by recovering steel and machinery industries.

Department Store Sales Drop 5.4%

Japan Department Stores Association said today sales by department stores decreased 5.4% to 436.4 billion yen in February, falling for the twenty fourth month in a row.

Tokyo-area sales contracted 6.5% to 107 billion yen.

Nikkei Movers

Nikon Corp led the decliners in the Nikkei 225 Stock Average with a loss of 3.0% followed by losses in Credit Saison Co., Ltd of 2.6%, in Mitsubishi Estate Company, Limited of 1.9%, in Mitsui Fudosan Co., Ltd 1.8% and in Sumitomo Corporation 1.7%.

Nippon Light Metal Company, Ltd led gainers in the Nikkei 225 Stock Average with a rise of 5.4% followed by gains in Taiyo Yuden Co., Ltd 4.3%, in Sapporo Holdings Ltd of 3.7% and in Mitsubishi Chemical Holdings Corp 3.6%.

Other Movers

Dai-ichi Mutual Life Insurance Co. plans to set its initial public offering price this weekend that may the listing on April 1. The second largest life insurer expects to raise as much as 1.1 trillion yen or $12 billion in Japan’s largest public offering since 1998.

The insurance company is selling 2.5 million to overseas investors and 4.6 million to domestic investors in Japan.

Honda Motor Co., Ltd advanced 1.8% to 3,260.00 yen after the company issued a recall of over 400,000 vehicles due to a brake problem in the U.S. These models include the 2007 and 2008 Honda Odyssey minivans and Honda Element small trucks.

Nikon Corporation the camera maker fell 3.0% to 2,031.00 yen.

Mitsui Fudosan declined 1.8% after land prices fell to the lowest level in four decades.

Sony Corporation added 2.6% to 3,520.00 yen after the maker of the PlayStation 3 game machine is teaming up with European movie-rental firm Lovefilm to offer TV viewers in Britain instant access to films from the Web according to Reuters report.

Toyota Motor Corporation the automaker rose 1.9% to 3,600.00 yen.