“Japanese shares fell, with the Nikkei 225 (NKY) Stock Average retreating from its highest in 32 months, as Hitachi Ltd. and Fujikura Ltd. cut their forecasts and concern about Europe’s debt crisis deepened.
Hitachi, a maker of electronics and machinery, declined 6.4 percent, while cable-manufacturer Fujikura tumbled 7.3 percent. Konica Minolta Holdings Inc. (4902), a producer of imaging equipment that gets 28 percent of its sales in Europe, dropped 3.1 percent. Nippon Sheet Glass Co. (5202) led gains on the Nikkei 225 after Daiwa Securities Group Inc. (8601) recommended the shares. Toyota Motor Corp. (7203) slid 1.2 percent before posting earnings at the close.
The Nikkei 225 lost 1.9 percent to 11,046.92 in Tokyo after yesterday closing at its highest since April 15, 2010. Volume was about 65 percent above the 30-day average for the time of a day. The broader Topix Index fell 1.7 percent to 939.70, with about four stocks dropping for each that gained.
“Investors are using the European issue as an excuse to adjust their positions,” 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 are also paying attention to factors for individual stocks.”
The Topix has surged 30 percent since Nov. 14, when national elections were announced on optimism Prime Minister Shinzo Abe’s new government will take steps to fight deflation. The gauge is trading at 1.11 times book value, compared with 2.07 for the Standard & Poor’s 500 Index and 1.47 for the Stoxx Europe 600 Index.
Of the 159 companies on the Topix that have reported earnings so far this quarter and for which Bloomberg has estimates, 61 percent have exceeded profit expectations. Some 52 percent missed sales projections, the data show.
