TOKYO: Japanese stocks declined after data from the U.S. and China spurred worries about the global monetary outlook.
The Topix index lost 0.3 percent to 1,410.34 as of 12:42 p.m. in Tokyo, after advancing 0.8 percent last week. All but nine of its 33 industry groups fell. The Nikkei 225 Stock Average declined 0.4 percent to 17,608.82. The yen traded at 117.77 per dollar after earlier strengthening to as much as 116.66. U.S. stocks slumped on Jan. 30, capping the biggest monthly loss in a year as economic growth in the world’s largest economy came in below analyst estimates.
Japan Airlines Co. sank 2.1 percent after increasing its net-income forecast by less than expected. Skymark Airlines Co. tumbled 81 percent after the Tokyo Stock Exchange scrapped trading limits for the bankruptcy-headed budget airliner. Chubu Electric Power Co. sank 5.6 percent after the cutting its full-year forecast. Fujitsu Ltd. soared 9.9 percent after raising its net-income forecast.
“We’re right in the middle of earnings season, and while the Japanese results on Friday weren’t too bad, the weakness in the U.S. is weighing on shares today,” said Hitoshi Asaoka, a Tokyo-based senior strategist at Mizuho Trust & Banking Co. “Japanese stocks were also at a pretty high level at the end of last week, so we may be seeing some profit-taking for now.”
