TOKYO: Japanese stocks fell, trimming a weekly gain on the benchmark Nikkei 225 Stock Average, after US economic reports missed estimates, damping the earnings outlook for exporters. Toshiba Corp. rose after its chip-making partner reported better-than-expected profits.
Carmaker Toyota Motor Corp., which depends on North America for a quarter of its sales, dropped 1%. Yamato Holdings Co., which provides parcel delivery services, declined 2.9% on a report its operating profit slid. Toshiba added 3.2% after chip-making partner SanDisk Corp. posted profits that topped analysts’ estimates.
The Nikkei 225 fell 0.3% to 8,767.38 as of 9:52 a.m. in Tokyo, trimming weekly gain to 0.5%. The broader Topix Index dropped 0.7% to 741.90.
“The shape of recovery is still uncertain,” said Prasad Patkar, who helps manage about $1 billion at Platypus Asset Management Ltd. in Sydney. “Equity investors need to be patient in any case, but more so at the present time. Valuations are low, which means dividend yields are reasonable.”
The Topix rebounded 6.6% from a 29-year low reached on June 4 as concern eased about Europe’s debt crisis and central banks around the world cut rates to shore up growth.
Shares on the index are valued at 0.9 times book value, compared with 2.2 for the Standard & Poor’s 500 Index and 1.4 for the Europe Stoxx 600 Index. A number below one means investors can buy companies for less than the value of their assets. (Bloomberg/T07)
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