Nikkei gains in wary day's trade, NEC surges
Nikkei gains in wary day's trade, NEC surges
18:00, November 06, 2009 
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Japan's 225-issue Nikkei Stock Average rose 0.7 percent Friday gaining 71.91 points to 9,789.35, following a one-month closing low on Thursday.
Exporters, following positive results on U.S. employment data, made early gains and optimistic trade in the U.S. tech sector elevated domestic tech-shares. Buying stalled in afternoon trade however as market players opted to bank on earlier profits made.
The broader Topix index of all First Section issues on the Tokyo Stock Exchange closed at a one-month low of 874.01.
Weekly jobs data released in the U.S. on Thursday revealed that the number of people filing jobless claims fell to a 10-month low last week, providing exporters with optimism about the pace of economic recovery, which paid off in gains made Friday.
The U.S. government will release key employment data later on Friday that analysts predict will reveal a better-than-expected unemployment situation, although markets remained comparatively circumspect ahead of the results.
Honda Motor Co. rose 0.5 percent to 2,800 yen, whilst Sony Corp., Japan's biggest television exporter, added 1.6 percent on the back of the U.S. reported lower-than-expected jobless claims and higher productivity. Canon Inc. was also amongst the advancers gaining 1.8 percent to 3,410 yen.
NEC Corp. surged 10.1 percent to 273 yen, following news that Japan's largest maker of personal computers plans to raise as much as 134 billion yen (1.5 billion U.S. dollars) by selling stock to help fund new businesses and pay off debt. The stock gained on positive speculation that the new funds will help the ailing company through the global economic downturn.
The company plans to sell as many as 537.5 million new shares to Japanese and overseas investors at a price to be determined between Nov. 18 and Nov. 20, NEC said in a statement Friday.
"The sale will likely help NEC improve financial strength, but its growth strategy needs to be clearer. The size of the deal is within market expectations," said Tomoyuki Fujii, an analyst at Okasan Securities Co.
Banking and financial sectors dipped Friday with Sumitomo Mitsui Financial Group losing 0.3 percent to 3,160 yen, whilst Mizuho Financial Group lost 1.1 percent to 179 yen. The nation's top lender Mitsubishi UFJ Financial Group closed flat, erasing losses made in earlier trade.
"Regulations are expected to be tightened, so financial companies have to raise capital to maintain their size. An excess supply of their shares will lead to sell-offs," said Kiyoshi Ishigane, a strategist at Mitsubishi UFJ Asset Management Co.
Sumitomo Trust and Banking Co. Ltd. and Chuo Mitsui Trust Holdings Inc. announced they are in merger negotiations, which if the amalgamation come to fruition, would create Japan's largest trust bank with "scale to better compete in the crowded asset management industry," according to analysts.
Sumitomo Trust dropped down 0.8 percent, whilst Chuo Mitsui lost 2.2 percent to 313 yen at Friday's close.
T&D Holdings Inc., Japan's biggest listed life insurer, plummeted 10.8 percent to 2,115 yen, after it registered to sell 120 billion yen (1.3 billion U.S. dollars) in new shares in a bid to shed its debt. The life insurance company was the biggest decliner on the Nikkei today.
"Japanese shares aren't rising compared to the rest of Asia because there aren't a lot of merits for investors, they aren't going to make money due to fundraising. As long as this funding risk is there, nobody is going to want to buy, even with good earnings results. They'll just buy companies that are fiscally sound," said Tomomi Yamashita, a fund manager at Shinkin Asset Management, in a statement reflecting investors' mood Friday and for most of this week.
Trade was moderate Friday with 1.9 billion shares changing hands on the Tokyo exchange's First section, down on last week's daily average of 2 billion.
Declining shares outpaced advancing ones by more than 2 to 1.
Source: Xinhua
Exporters, following positive results on U.S. employment data, made early gains and optimistic trade in the U.S. tech sector elevated domestic tech-shares. Buying stalled in afternoon trade however as market players opted to bank on earlier profits made.
The broader Topix index of all First Section issues on the Tokyo Stock Exchange closed at a one-month low of 874.01.
Weekly jobs data released in the U.S. on Thursday revealed that the number of people filing jobless claims fell to a 10-month low last week, providing exporters with optimism about the pace of economic recovery, which paid off in gains made Friday.
The U.S. government will release key employment data later on Friday that analysts predict will reveal a better-than-expected unemployment situation, although markets remained comparatively circumspect ahead of the results.
Honda Motor Co. rose 0.5 percent to 2,800 yen, whilst Sony Corp., Japan's biggest television exporter, added 1.6 percent on the back of the U.S. reported lower-than-expected jobless claims and higher productivity. Canon Inc. was also amongst the advancers gaining 1.8 percent to 3,410 yen.
NEC Corp. surged 10.1 percent to 273 yen, following news that Japan's largest maker of personal computers plans to raise as much as 134 billion yen (1.5 billion U.S. dollars) by selling stock to help fund new businesses and pay off debt. The stock gained on positive speculation that the new funds will help the ailing company through the global economic downturn.
The company plans to sell as many as 537.5 million new shares to Japanese and overseas investors at a price to be determined between Nov. 18 and Nov. 20, NEC said in a statement Friday.
"The sale will likely help NEC improve financial strength, but its growth strategy needs to be clearer. The size of the deal is within market expectations," said Tomoyuki Fujii, an analyst at Okasan Securities Co.
Banking and financial sectors dipped Friday with Sumitomo Mitsui Financial Group losing 0.3 percent to 3,160 yen, whilst Mizuho Financial Group lost 1.1 percent to 179 yen. The nation's top lender Mitsubishi UFJ Financial Group closed flat, erasing losses made in earlier trade.
"Regulations are expected to be tightened, so financial companies have to raise capital to maintain their size. An excess supply of their shares will lead to sell-offs," said Kiyoshi Ishigane, a strategist at Mitsubishi UFJ Asset Management Co.
Sumitomo Trust and Banking Co. Ltd. and Chuo Mitsui Trust Holdings Inc. announced they are in merger negotiations, which if the amalgamation come to fruition, would create Japan's largest trust bank with "scale to better compete in the crowded asset management industry," according to analysts.
Sumitomo Trust dropped down 0.8 percent, whilst Chuo Mitsui lost 2.2 percent to 313 yen at Friday's close.
T&D Holdings Inc., Japan's biggest listed life insurer, plummeted 10.8 percent to 2,115 yen, after it registered to sell 120 billion yen (1.3 billion U.S. dollars) in new shares in a bid to shed its debt. The life insurance company was the biggest decliner on the Nikkei today.
"Japanese shares aren't rising compared to the rest of Asia because there aren't a lot of merits for investors, they aren't going to make money due to fundraising. As long as this funding risk is there, nobody is going to want to buy, even with good earnings results. They'll just buy companies that are fiscally sound," said Tomomi Yamashita, a fund manager at Shinkin Asset Management, in a statement reflecting investors' mood Friday and for most of this week.
Trade was moderate Friday with 1.9 billion shares changing hands on the Tokyo exchange's First section, down on last week's daily average of 2 billion.
Declining shares outpaced advancing ones by more than 2 to 1.
Source: Xinhua
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