2013/05/30 17:20 - Nikkei Falls Sharply On Dollar's Fall

Nikkei Falls Sharply On Dollar's Fall

TOKYO (NQN)--Tokyo stocks took a beating Thursday, with the Nikkei Stock Average falling 737.43 points, or 5.15%, to end the day at 13,589.03, its lowest level in about a month and the second-biggest fall this year.

The overnight decline in U.S. and European stocks made investors less willing to take risks, and the dollar's depreciation triggered selling of blue chips, including automakers.

Amid an already lackluster overall market, heavy selling of stock index futures and a fall in the influential stock of Fast Retailing Co. (9983) further weighed on sentiment, sending the benchmark index even lower.

The overnight fall in the Dow Jones industrial average and the dollar's depreciation to the 100 yen level worked against exporters. And with investors reluctant to engage in dip-buying, selling triggered even more selling, causing the Nikkei average to extend its losses.

The Topix index of all first-section issues lost 44.45 points, or 3.8%, to close the day at 1,134.42, its lowest since April 19. All 33 subindexes of the Topix gauge fell. Falls of larger than 5% were seen in shares of property companies, storage and transportation-related companies, financial companies, power companies and gas companies.

Trading value on the first section of the Tokyo Stock Exchange totaled 3.37 trillion yen on a preliminary basis, with 4.47 billion shares changing hands. A total of 1,640 first-section stocks declined, or 95% of the total. Only 62 stocks moved higher, and 14 remained unchanged.

Reports that banks will hike their mortgage rates triggered significant falls for Mitsui Fudosan Co. (8801), Sumitomo Realty & Development Co. (8830) and Mitsubishi Estate Co. (8802).

Declines were logged by all three megabanks -- Mizuho Financial Group Inc. (8411), Sumitomo Mitsui Financial Group Inc. (8316) and Mitsubishi UFJ Financial Group Inc.

Automakers Toyota Motor Corp. (7203), Honda Motor Co. (7267) and Mazda Motor Corp. (7261) were also lower.

Securities companies, including Nomura Holdings Inc. (8604) and Daiwa Securities Group Inc. (8601), also lost ground.

In contrast, rises were seen for Maruei Department Store Co. (8245), Nipro Corp. (8086), Gun Ei Chemical Industry Co. (4229) and Tsugami Corp. (6101).

Goay Joe Lie

Director of Joe Lie Beauty And Cosmetics