TOKYO: Japanese stocks fell for a second day, following U.S. stocks lower, as Friday’s jump in the yen weighed on exporters and Toshiba Corp. tumbled on a report it will post a record loss. Shares pared their decline in the afternoon as the currency gave up some of its gains.
The Topix index slipped 0.4 percent to 1,531.28 at the close in Tokyo after falling as much as 1.6 percent. The Nikkei 225 Stock Average lost 0.4 percent to 18,916.02. The yen weakened 0.1 percent to 121.33 per dollar after strengthening 1.1 percent on Friday as the Bank of Japan’s tweaks to its stimulus program disappointed investors. U.S. stocks fell to the lowest in two months as markets adjust to the end of near-zero U.S. interest rates.
“The stock market drop in the U.S. is signaling risk-off and this is being reflected in currencies,” said Shoji Hirakawa, chief equity strategist at Okasan Securities Co. in Tokyo, said by phone. “In the short term, Japanese stocks had fallen too much. There are expectations of buying from pension funds and other government funds.”
Toshiba sank 9.8 percent to close at the lowest level since 2012, after the Nikkei newspaper said the company would post a record 500 billion yen ($4 billion) loss in the current fiscal year on costs related to an accounting scandal, layoffs and sales of business units. Toshiba denied it was the source of the report, while saying the loss will be “large.”
Global Growth
While last week’s Federal Reserve decision to increase interest rates removed a measure of uncertainty and added to optimism the world’s largest economy is on firm footing, it did little to allay concern that global growth and commodity prices remains vulnerable. Oil continues to trade near levels last seen during the global financial crisis, stoking worry that junk-rated energy producers won’t be able to remain solvent.
E-mini futures on the Standard & Poor’s 500 Index rose 0.4 percent after the underlying measure sank 1.8 percent on Friday. Volume soared because of a quarterly event known as quadruple witching, when futures and options contracts on indexes and individual stocks expire.
The BOJ unveiled policy changes on Friday, including extending maturities of its government bond purchases and unveiling a new program to buy exchange-traded funds of companies making capital investment. The Topix closed 1.8 percent lower after jumping as much as 2 percent.
Brokers Drop
Brokerages fell the most among the Topix’s 33 industry groups on Monday, while metal producers gained.
Exporters retreated. Toyota Motor Corp. was the biggest drag on the Topix, sliding 1 percent. Olympus Corp., which makes endoscopes, lost 1.2 percent, as did camera-manufacturer Nikon Corp.
Panasonic Corp. dropped 2.7 percent after Reuters reported the Japanese electronics maker will buy U.S.-based refrigerator-systems manufacturer Hussmann Corp. for 150 billion to 200 billion yen.
Mitsubishi Chemical Holdings Corp. lost 0.9 percent after the Nikkei newspaper reported the company will sell 100 billion yen of cross shareholdings.
Minebea Co. jumped 2.1 percent after the Nikkei said the electronic-components maker will merge with Mitsumi Electric Co. in 2017. Shares of Mitsumi rose 3 percent before being suspended after the report.
