Japanese shares opened lower and haven’t looked back since: The Nikkei Average is currently off 1.7%, with a 1.8% drop for the broader Topix, as the market returns from four days of holiday.
As mentioned, much of this is about the dollar’s weakness against the yen (currently buying ¥101.70 vs. around ¥102.20 when Tokyo last traded), while a 1.4% dive for the Nasdaq isn’t helping either.
As you would expect, the techs are sharply lower on the yen and Nasdaq action: Panasonic is down 2.4%, Renesas is down 4.4%, Nintendo is down 2.6%, Olympus is down 3%, and so on.
Nor do the auto shares like the situation (Honda down 2.5%, Nissan down 2.7%), nor do the brokers (Nomura down 3.2%, Daiwa down 3.4%), nor do the shippers (Mitsui OSK down 3.4%, Nippon Yusen down 2.1%).
And as for Softbank’s gains after Alibaba, of which it owns more than 30%, filed for a U.S. IPO — they were short-lived.
Shares of Softbank are currently down “just” 0.6%, even as the Nikkei newspaper tips a forecast-beating profit result when the Japanese owner of Sprint reports earnings later today.
But a few names are trading higher, among them Asahi. Its shares are up 2.3% after the beverage maker reported its first-quarter operating profit more than doubled.
Meanwhile, Fast Retailing announced that April sales in Japan for its Uniqlo chain rose 3.3%. Its stock, however, fell 1.5%
As mentioned, much of this is about the dollar’s weakness against the yen (currently buying ¥101.70 vs. around ¥102.20 when Tokyo last traded), while a 1.4% dive for the Nasdaq isn’t helping either.
As you would expect, the techs are sharply lower on the yen and Nasdaq action: Panasonic is down 2.4%, Renesas is down 4.4%, Nintendo is down 2.6%, Olympus is down 3%, and so on.
Nor do the auto shares like the situation (Honda down 2.5%, Nissan down 2.7%), nor do the brokers (Nomura down 3.2%, Daiwa down 3.4%), nor do the shippers (Mitsui OSK down 3.4%, Nippon Yusen down 2.1%).
And as for Softbank’s gains after Alibaba, of which it owns more than 30%, filed for a U.S. IPO — they were short-lived.
Shares of Softbank are currently down “just” 0.6%, even as the Nikkei newspaper tips a forecast-beating profit result when the Japanese owner of Sprint reports earnings later today.
But a few names are trading higher, among them Asahi. Its shares are up 2.3% after the beverage maker reported its first-quarter operating profit more than doubled.
Meanwhile, Fast Retailing announced that April sales in Japan for its Uniqlo chain rose 3.3%. Its stock, however, fell 1.5%