In the early going, the Nikkei Average is 0.2% higher than its Friday close, with an identical gain for the Topix, after both benchmarks opened lower by a similar margin. Offering some support, the yen is weaker (dollar at ¥101.99 vs. ¥101.85) in the wake of a smaller-than-expected current-account surplus for March, announced 10 minutes ahead of the open.
But with Japan’s earnings season in full swing, it’s the quarterly results (and forward outlooks) that are providing the key drivers for many of the biggest movers.
Among the losers, Sumitomo Electric is down 6%, with Kim Eng Securities noting a fiscal-year forecast for profit growth well below analysts’ average expectation. Likewise, an almost 17% drop in net profit for Asahi Glass has those shares down 4.8%.
Shares of Renesas Electronics are lower by 2.4% following a fiscal-year loss that was nonetheless smaller than the company’s own forecast. And energy major Inpex is 3% weaker on its forecast for a 7% drop in annual profit.
Also hit hard is Konica Minolta, its shares down almost 11% as its profit forecast trailed expectations.
But there are winners too: Stock in Olympus is up 3.5% after the maker of cameras and medical equipment posted an almost 70% jump in profit for the last fiscal year, and said net income for the current fiscal year should be more than triple that result.
And Sapporo is 3.6% stronger, as the market gives a thumbs-up to the drinks maker, even as its quarterly net loss widened from a year earlier.
Suzuki Motor is also 3.6% higher, though here, Kim Eng Securities puts the motorcycle producer’s profit forecast below the median estimate of the analysts.
Among the earnings due out after today’s close: Hitachi and Nissan