TOKYO: Japanese stocks fell for the first time in 12 sessions after data showed the U.S. economy contracted in the first quarter.
Real-estate firms led declines, with Mitsubishi Estate Co. dropping 1.7 percent, the most in three weeks. Takata Corp., embroiled in an auto air-bag scandal, lost 2.6 percent as shares continued moving lower following a brief respite last week. Mitsui & Co. slumped 1.4 percent after SMBC Nikko Securities Inc. cut its rating on the stock. Toshiba Corp. jumped 2.9 percent after the Nikkei newspaper reported the company may move to restore its dividend.
The Topix index retreated 0.2 percent to 1,670.43 as of 12:35 p.m. in Tokyo after the measure rose 5.1 percent in May, its best month since February. The Nikkei 225 Stock Average lost 0.3 percent to 20,504.12. The yen traded at 124.14 per dollar after losing 4 percent in May, its biggest monthly decline since November. Data released Friday showed the world’s largest economy shrank for the first time in a year.
“The data coming out of the U.S. continues to be weak,” said Yoshito Sakakibara, an economist at JPMorgan Chase & Co.’s asset-management unit in Tokyo. “The health of the U.S. economy is very important for stocks, so whenever we see uncertainty there, investors will be turned off from buying equities.”
