Japanese shares fluctuated, after the benchmark Topix index capped a weekly decline, as exporters of electrical appliances and autos supported the gauge, while phone companies and drugmakers fell.
The Topix index rose 0.1 percent at the trading break in Tokyo. The gauge fell 0.2 percent at one point after rising as much as 0.6 percent earlier. The yen swung between gains and losses after dropping Friday as investors increased bets the Federal Reserve will raise U.S. interest rates. While parsing the latest Fed developments, investors in Tokyo will also turn their attention to earnings, with more than 350 Topix companies scheduled to post results next week as the quarterly reporting season begins in earnest.
| Security |
Percent Change |
Price |
|---|
| Topix |
+0.1% |
1,348.24 |
| Nikkei 225 |
+0.2% |
16,880.98 |
| Yen-Dollar |
0.0% |
104.20 |
“Stocks were looking good today, but many of the investors probably want to have a look at the earnings reports for Japanese companies, a lot of which will start being released next week, before pushing stock prices much higher,” said Masahiro Ichikawa a Tokyo-based senior strategist at Sumitomo Mitsui Asset Management Co.
About five shares rose for every four stock that fell on the Topix, with a gauge tracking electrical-appliance makers rising 0.5 percent and that of car manufacturers advancing 0.3 percent. An index of telecommunication stocks dropped 0.5 percent.
- Japan Display Inc. surged 8.8 percent, leading gains on the Topix Electric Appliances Index. SMBC Nikko Securities Inc. raised its rating on the stock to outperform from neutral.
- Tokyo Electric Power Co., or Tepco, slumped 7.9 percent, the worst performer on the Nikkei 225 Stock Average. A candidate opposed to the restart of Tepco’s Kashiwazaki Kariwa nuclear plant won the gubernatorial race for the Niigata prefecture, where the reactor is located, blurring the outlook for Japan’s largest power utility.
- TSI Holdings Co., a manufacturer of men and women’s clothing, climbed 7 percent after the company reported 830 million yen ($8 million) in operating profit for the six months ended August, swinging from a loss of 422 million yen posted in the year-earlier period.
Japanese stocks are the worst performers among developed Asian markets this year, with the Topix down 13 percent as a surging yen buffets the nation’s major manufacturing companies. Still, the equity measure has been recovering from a low in June, rising 12 percent on gains in oil and as the yen weakened 3.8 percent since a September high against the greenback.
The Japanese currency capped a third straight weekly decline against the dollar on Friday as traders put the likelihood of higher U.S. rates by December at 66 percent, up from 29 percent a month ago, according to futures data compiled by Bloomberg. They saw a 17 percent chance of a November increase. Futures on the S&P 500 slipped 0.2 percent following a 1 percent decline in the underlying equity gauge last week.
“Corporate export revenues may have weakened in the first half, but if the yen manages to maintain current levels, earning may show signs of bottoming out,” said Shoji Hirakawa, chief global strategist at Tokai Tokyo Research Institute Co. in Tokyo. “U.S. retail sales figures turned out to be more solid than other previous consumer-related data.”
