“Japanese stocks fell, with the Nikkei 225 (NKY) Stock Average capping the longest losing streak in three months, after commodities slumped amid concern global economic growth is slowing. Shares pared losses as a slide in the yen buoyed exporters.
Sumitomo Metal Mining Co. lost 4.8 percent after gold capped the biggest drop in three decades. Mazda Motor Corp. (7261), the Japanese automaker with the highest proportion of exports, erased an earlier 3.3 percent drop as the yen weakened against all its major peers.Softbank Corp. (9984) slumped 6.8 percent after Dish Network Corp. outbid the carrier for Sprint Nextel Corp. Kansai Electric (9503) Power Co. slid 5 percent after CLSA Asia-Pacific Markets recommended selling the utility.
The Nikkei 225 fell 0.4 percent to close at 13,221.44 in Tokyoafter falling as much as 2 percent. The gauge dropped for a third consecutive day, the longest losing streak since Jan. 23, after climbing to an almost five-year high last week. The broader Topix (TPX) Index fell 1.3 percent to 1,119.20, with more than three shares sliding for each that gained, as economic data from China and the U.S. missed estimates.
“All of a sudden, the market has switched to a risk-off mode,” said Hitoshi Asaoka, a Tokyo-based senior strategist at Mizuho Trust & Banking Co., a unit of Japan’s third-largest bank by market value. “Investors should take a cautious approach to Japanese stocks, but some are probably looking to buy on dips because of expectations about Bank of Japan policy.”
