LOS ANGELES: Japanese stocks firmed early Tuesday as the yen fell back to near its recent multiyear low, with the Nikkei Stock Average NIK, -0.67% up 0.3% after losing 1% the previous day on the back of weak economic-growth data.
The broader Topix rose more modestly, up 0.1%. With the dollar USDJPY, +0.48% bobbing back above the ¥121 level (at ¥121.53, up from ¥120.84 at the previous Tokyo stock close), forex-sensitive names advanced, with Fujitsu Ltd. 6702, +1.60% FJTSY, +0.00% up 1.6%, Sharp Corp. 6753, +1.69% SHCAF, -4.21% up 1.7%, and Panasonic Corp. 6752, -0.56% PCRFF, -1.02% up 1%, though Nintendo Co. 7974, -1.62% NTDOF, -0.22% fell 0.9%, with videogame rival Sony Corp. 6758, -1.64% SNE, -0.62% down 0.3%.
Retailers were generally improved, as J. Front Retailing Co. 3086, -1.77% JFROF, +7.98% gained 0.8%, Takashimaya Co. 8233, -0.43% TKSHF rose 1%, and Muji-store operator Ryohin Keikaku Co. 7453, -1.00% added 1.6% after a Nikkei report said the company would post a 10% increase in group pretax profit for the year through February.
On the downside, McDonald’s Holdings Co. Japan 2702, -0.79% lost 0.9% after reporting an almost 29% fall in February same-store sales, though the result wasn’t as bad as February’s almost 39% drop. And stock in Yahoo Japan Corp. 4689, -1.27% YAHOF, +13.79% retreated 1.6% as The Wall Street Journal reported activist fund Starboard Value LP was calling on the U.S. parent Yahoo Inc. YHOO, -0.16% to spin off its stake in the Japanese unit.
