TOKYO: Japanese stocks swung between gains and losses as increases by energy companies offset declines at airlines.
Inpex Corp., the nation’s largest oil explorer, gained 5 percent after crude prices touched a 2015 high. Nomura Real Estate Holdings Inc. jumped 1.9 percent after raising its earnings forecast. Hioki EE Corp. surged 12 percent, the most on the Topix index, after profit surged at the maker of electric measuring devices. Japan Airlines Co. slipped 2.9 percent.
The Topix fell 0.2 percent to 1,584.96 as of 12:42 p.m. in Tokyo, reversing a gain of 0.4 percent. The gauge has been stuck in an eight-point range since reaching a seven-year high last week. The Nikkei 225 Stock Average slipped 0.5 percent to 19,777.65. The measure briefly topped 20,000 last week for the first time in 15 years.
“There’s a sense shares will eventually rise on the back of good earnings, but there’s a lack of factors to push the Nikkei 225 beyond 20,000 right now,” Mitsushige Akino, an executive officer at Ichiyoshi Asset Management Co. in Tokyo, said by phone. “If shares fall, there’ll be buying from public funds — we still have good demand. I don’t expect shares to fall that low as investors will buy on dips.”
