TOKYO: Japanese stocks fluctuated ahead of policy meetings by the Federal Reserve and Bank of Japan and as more than 300 local companies report earnings this week.
Sony Corp. sank 1.1 percent after a report its operating profit will reach about 300 billion yen ($2.5 billion), lower than analysts estimates. Mazda Motor Corp. sank 3 percent after forecasting operating profit that missed analyst estimates. NEC Corp. gained 5.4 percent as the computer maker reported preliminary profit that beat its outlook. Mitsubishi Chemical Holdings Corp. jumped 3.1 percent after a report the chemical maker beat its profit forecast.
The Topix index was little changed at 1,619.20 as of 1:05 p.m. in Tokyo, having swung between a gain of 0.2 percent and a loss of 0.4 percent. Nine shares advanced for every eight that fell. The Nikkei 225 Stock Average slipped 0.1 percent to 20,009.08. The yen gained 0.1 percent to 118.92 per dollar, strengthening for a third day.
“No one’s going to be aggressively buying stocks,” said Tomomi Yamashita, who helps oversee the equivalent of $6.3 billion at Shinkin Asset Management Co. in Tokyo. “We have a lot of monetary policy decisions this week, and there’s concern the currency could swing around.”
E-mini futures on the Standard & Poor’s 500 Index were little changed after the underlying measure gained 0.2 percent to a record on Friday in New York as Google Inc., Microsoft Corp. and Amazon.com Inc. rallied after posting quarterly results.
