Tokyo stocks fall on profit-taking
Tokyo stocks traded lower Monday despite overnight gains on Wall Street, with investors locking in profits after an upbeat end to last week.
The benchmark Nikkei 225 index opened higher but was down 0.24 percent, or 68.08 points, at 28,195.49 in morning trade, while the broader Topix index was down 0.44 percent, or 8.64 points, at 1,969.12.
The Nikkei advanced nearly three percent on Friday, driven by hopes for less aggressive Federal Reserve rate hikes due to slowing US inflation that pushed up markets worldwide.
"In reaction to strong rallies in the previous session, Japanese markets are starting with losses," said Monex senior market analyst Toshiyuki Kanayama. Although last week's lower-than-expected US inflation data was good news for investors, the global rallies "probably extended beyond what is justified by the (economic) fundamentals", said Stephen Innes of SPI Asset Management.
The dollar fetched 139.35 yen, against 138.7 yen in New York late Friday-a retreat from the multi-decade highs of beyond 151 yen hit by the dollar last month. Market heavyweight SoftBank Group plunged 10.83 percent to 6,200 yen after the investment giant posted a net profit in the second quarter but a net loss in the first half.
Toshiba was down 2.36 percent at 4,833 yen, after the conglomerate cut its annual net profit and operating targets due to one-off charges. Its executives did not comment on the group's potential takeover process.
Olympus plunged 8 percent to 2,845.5 yen after it cut its full-year operating profit forecast and reported a lower-than-expected second-quarter operating profit. Honda was down 0.69 percent at 3,312 yen, shipping firm Mitsui O.S.K. Lines was off 0.80 percent at 3,095 yen, and Japan Airlines was down 2.04 percent at 2,637 yen.
But chip-linked shares were higher, with semiconductor-making equipment manufacturer Tokyo Electron rallying 1.53 percent to 45,050 yen and chiptesting equipment maker Advantest up 0.56 percent at 8,960 yen.
Nissan on Wednesday upgraded its full-year profit forecasts, as the depreciating yen helps inflate its overseas profits, despite ongoing challenges including Covid shutdowns and the global chip shortage.
The company now expects an annual net profit of 155 billion yen ($1.06 billion), up 5.0 billion yen from an earlier target for the year to March 2023.
It also hiked annual sales revenues, but said it now expects to sell 3.7 million units in the business year, down from a previous forecast of 4.0 million and lower than its unit sales in the previous fiscal year.
In a statement, the firm cited "a severe business environment in the first half of the fiscal year, with raw material prices rising sharply and sales volume falling below the previous year's level due to semiconductor supply shortages and the impact of Covidrelated lockdowns in Shanghai."
"Our strong first half performance reflects our steadily improving profit structure and strong business foundations, as well as the exchange-rate impact of the historically weak yen," said Nissan CEO Makoto Uchida in a statement.
He said the business environment would "remain challenging" in the second half of the year, with ongoing semiconductor shortages and higher raw material prices.
Nissan also reported a one-time loss in the period of approximately 100 billion yen "in connection with the withdrawal from the Russian market".
The results come with all eyes on negotiations between Nissan and alliance partner Renault on a possible rebalancing of their sometimes fractious relationship.
The French automaker, which on Tuesday confirmed it will create a new electric car unit, Ampere, is believed to be discussing a sizable reduction of its stake in Nissan.
Nissan said in a statement last month that "trustful discussions" were underway with Renault as part of an effort to "reinforce the cooperation and the future" of their decades-long alliance.
The partnership is widely credited for Nissan's transformation from a money-losing carmaker in the late 1990s into one of the world's biggest industry giants.