TOKYO: Japanese stocks slipped from a seven-week high after oil fell below $45 a barrel and the Federal Reserve cited international risks to the U.S. economy.
Skymark Airlines Inc., Japan’s third-largest carrier which filed for bankruptcy protection after running short of cash, went untraded as offers to sell outnumbered buy orders. Komatsu Ltd. sank 8.7 percent after Nomura Holdings Inc. said the construction-equipment maker may miss full-year earnings estimates. Chugai Pharmaceutical Co. jumped 4.9 percent as Goldman Sachs Group Inc. boosted its share price target on the stock after the drugmaker reported earnings.
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The Topix index lost 0.6 percent to 1,422.07 as of 1 p.m. in Tokyo, with about five shares falling for every three that rose. The Nikkei 225 Stock Average slipped 0.3 percent to 17,737.77. The yen weakened 0.4 percent to 117.96 per dollar after rising the past two days.
“Investors are negative on the Fed comments because they were hoping for more clarity on when they will raise rates, as proof that they see the U.S. recovery as a genuine one,” said Andrew Clarke, director of trading at Mirabaud Securities Asia Ltd. in Hong Kong. “Simply put, equity markets don’t want a sharp rise in interest rates, but equally, if there’s no guidance to when they may start to rise, it means the Fed can see problems such as disinflation creeping into the economy.”
