Japanese shares fell, reversing gains from
the morning session, following a report a man is being tested
for Ebola in Tokyo.
Oil and coal producers and developers led declines among the 33 Topix industry groups. Toyota Motor Corp. slid 0.4 percent as the yen erased a drop against the dollar. Fujifilm Holdings Corp., which makes the Avigan drug used in experimental Ebola treatments, climbed 0.4 percent. Nippon Suisan Kaisha Ltd., a seafood producer, added 3.2 percent as fishing stocks posted the biggest advance.
The Topix slid 0.2 percent to 1,424.67 at the close in Tokyo, paring a loss of as much as 1.3 percent in the afternoon after rising as much as 0.4 percent in the morning. Volume was 18 percent below the 30-day average today. The Nikkei 225 Stock Average dropped 0.5 percent to 17,729.84. The yen was little changed at 120.31 per dollar after falling as much as 0.2 percent.
“The news that a Japanese man may have Ebola looks to
have triggered this drop in shares,” said Gavin Parry, managing director of Parry International Trading Ltd. in Hong Kong. “We think this index selloff is overdone and a knee-jerk reaction. The yen has also amplified the move.”
A man in Tokyo in his 30s is being tested for the virus after reporting a fever of more than 38 degrees, the health ministry said. The man had returned from Sierra Leone this month, where he attended a burial and had contact with a body bag, the ministry said.
Fujifilm gained 0.4 percent to 3,783 yen. Airtech Japan Ltd., which makes antibacterial and cleaning equipment, soared 15 percent to 792 yen.
Azearth Corp., which sells protective gear to guard against hazards such as bird flu, surged 16 percent to 724 yen. Authorities culled at least 42,000 chickens after the H5 strain of the virus was found in a farm in Miyazaki City.
Oil distributor BP Castrol K.K. sank 7.2 percent to 1,172 yen, the biggest drop on the Topix (TPX) Oil & Coal index, which fell 1.2 percent.
Mitsubishi Estate Co., the nation’s biggest developer by market value, dropped 1.2 percent to 2,546.5 yen, the largest drag on the Topix Real Estate index.
The Topix Fishery Agriculture & Forestry Index gained 1.3 percent, the biggest jump among the broader gauge’s industry groups. Nippon Suisan Kaisha Ltd. climbed 3.2 percent to 383 yen.
Utilities gained the second most among the industry groups, with Tokyo Electric Power Co. jumped 4.6 percent to 505 yen, a second day of gains following a report prosecutors won’t indict its executives over the March 2011 nuclear disaster.
The Topix has almost doubled since elections were called in November 2012 that brought Prime Minister Shinzo Abe to power with a pledge to revive the nation’s stagnant economy through fiscal stimulus, monetary easing and structural overhaul. The gauge traded at 15.6 times estimated earnings today, compared with 17.5 for the S&P 500 on Dec. 26, according to data compiled by Bloomberg.
After pumping record amounts of cash into Japanese shares last year, when the Topix surged about 51 percent, inflows by foreign investors are down 94 percent this year to 898 billion yen ($7.5 billion), on pace for the smallest annual amount since the 2008 global financial crisis.
“The U.S. economy has been performing well recently and money is flowing into risk assets, which is positive for Japanese stocks too,” said Shoji Hirakawa, chief equity strategist at Okasan Securities Co. in Tokyo. “The economy is still bad in Japan, so the possibility remains of more easing, and I can see the yen continuing to weaken next year.”
Oil and coal producers and developers led declines among the 33 Topix industry groups. Toyota Motor Corp. slid 0.4 percent as the yen erased a drop against the dollar. Fujifilm Holdings Corp., which makes the Avigan drug used in experimental Ebola treatments, climbed 0.4 percent. Nippon Suisan Kaisha Ltd., a seafood producer, added 3.2 percent as fishing stocks posted the biggest advance.
The Topix slid 0.2 percent to 1,424.67 at the close in Tokyo, paring a loss of as much as 1.3 percent in the afternoon after rising as much as 0.4 percent in the morning. Volume was 18 percent below the 30-day average today. The Nikkei 225 Stock Average dropped 0.5 percent to 17,729.84. The yen was little changed at 120.31 per dollar after falling as much as 0.2 percent.
“The news that a Japanese man may have Ebola looks to
have triggered this drop in shares,” said Gavin Parry, managing director of Parry International Trading Ltd. in Hong Kong. “We think this index selloff is overdone and a knee-jerk reaction. The yen has also amplified the move.”
A man in Tokyo in his 30s is being tested for the virus after reporting a fever of more than 38 degrees, the health ministry said. The man had returned from Sierra Leone this month, where he attended a burial and had contact with a body bag, the ministry said.
Lacking News
“The market is just short on news,” which is why it is reacting to the Ebola report, said Mikey Hsia, a trader at Sunrise Brokers LLP. “So you can give it any reason, and the market will just come off a bit before the investors who buy on dips reappear again.”Fujifilm gained 0.4 percent to 3,783 yen. Airtech Japan Ltd., which makes antibacterial and cleaning equipment, soared 15 percent to 792 yen.
Azearth Corp., which sells protective gear to guard against hazards such as bird flu, surged 16 percent to 724 yen. Authorities culled at least 42,000 chickens after the H5 strain of the virus was found in a farm in Miyazaki City.
Oil distributor BP Castrol K.K. sank 7.2 percent to 1,172 yen, the biggest drop on the Topix (TPX) Oil & Coal index, which fell 1.2 percent.
Mitsubishi Estate Co., the nation’s biggest developer by market value, dropped 1.2 percent to 2,546.5 yen, the largest drag on the Topix Real Estate index.
The Topix Fishery Agriculture & Forestry Index gained 1.3 percent, the biggest jump among the broader gauge’s industry groups. Nippon Suisan Kaisha Ltd. climbed 3.2 percent to 383 yen.
Utilities gained the second most among the industry groups, with Tokyo Electric Power Co. jumped 4.6 percent to 505 yen, a second day of gains following a report prosecutors won’t indict its executives over the March 2011 nuclear disaster.
December Gain
The Topix is headed for a 9.4 percent advance in 2014 and a 1 percent increase this month. The measure has advanced in nine of the past 10 Decembers. The Nikkei 225 is on course for a 8.8 percent gain this year, with the gauge about 1.1 percent below its close of 17,935.64 on Dec. 8, which was its highest since July 2007.The Topix has almost doubled since elections were called in November 2012 that brought Prime Minister Shinzo Abe to power with a pledge to revive the nation’s stagnant economy through fiscal stimulus, monetary easing and structural overhaul. The gauge traded at 15.6 times estimated earnings today, compared with 17.5 for the S&P 500 on Dec. 26, according to data compiled by Bloomberg.
After pumping record amounts of cash into Japanese shares last year, when the Topix surged about 51 percent, inflows by foreign investors are down 94 percent this year to 898 billion yen ($7.5 billion), on pace for the smallest annual amount since the 2008 global financial crisis.
U.S. Rally
Futures on the S&P 500 added 0.1 percent. The underlying equity gauge rose 0.3 percent Dec. 26 as a rally in equities continued through one of the slowest trading days of the year.“The U.S. economy has been performing well recently and money is flowing into risk assets, which is positive for Japanese stocks too,” said Shoji Hirakawa, chief equity strategist at Okasan Securities Co. in Tokyo. “The economy is still bad in Japan, so the possibility remains of more easing, and I can see the yen continuing to weaken next year.”
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