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LEAD: Tokyo stocks fall on bearish outlook for hi-techs, stronger yen weighs+(Japan Economic Newswire Via Acquire Media NewsEdge) TOKYO, Nov. 20_(Kyodo) _ (EDS: ADDING DETAILS AND PRICES) Tokyo stocks fell sharply Friday morning, with the key Nikkei index hitting a fresh four-month intraday low under 9,500, as high-tech shares tracked their U.S. peers' losses overnight and Japanese exporters came under pressure from a stronger yen. The 225-issue Nikkei Stock Average lost 119.88 points, or 1.26 percent, to 9,429.59 from Thursday's four-month closing low. The broader Topix index of all First Section issues on the Tokyo Stock Exchange was down 7.20 points, or 0.86 percent, to 830.51. The Topix index turned marginally positive at one point with support from buying in banking and other financial issues, which have been major drags recently amid equity financing worries, as some investors felt stocks have become oversold, brokers said. But overall losses gradually expanded late in the morning. Mining, and oil and coal product issues, hit by lower commodity prices, were among the major decliners, along with auto shares. The few gainers were led by the securities, textile and real estate sectors. A decline on Wall Street Thursday after investment assessment downgrades on major semiconductor makers, including Intel Corp., prompted investors to further test the Tokyo market's downside after the Nikkei fell below 9,500 for the first time since mid-July the previous day. "In addition to Bank of America-Merrill Lynch's bearish fiscal 2010 outlook for the semiconductor sector, figures released early this morning (Japan time) showed the book-to-bill ratio for U.S. semiconductor equipment orders in October fell significantly," said Tsuyoshi Segawa, an equity strategist at Mizuho Securities Co. "This was a double punch for high-tech shares." Prospects for a solid recovery of the Japanese economy were dimmed as the Japanese government assessed for the first time in more than three years that Japan is in deflation, with Deputy Prime Minister Naoto Kan making the remarks Friday morning. The market had been expecting the official declaration in a Cabinet Office economic report due out in the afternoon. "The problem of deflation is indeed serious and unlike other countries where there is already talk about the so-called exit strategies (from stimulus measures), that's still impossible for Japan," Segawa said. "We now have to see what concrete measures the government and the central bank are going to put forward to deter deflation." A weaker U.S. dollar, trading in the upper 88 yen zone in Tokyo morning deals after falling to a one-and-a-half month low overnight in New York, as well as declines in Shanghai and other key Asian markets, further soured the mood in Tokyo, brokers said. On the First Section, declining issues outpaced advancing ones 994 to 526, with 142 others ending the morning unchanged. Semiconductor testing device maker Advantest lost 60 yen, or almost 3 percent, to 2,030 yen. Chipmaker Elpida Memory fell 41 yen, or almost 4 percent, to 1,111 yen. Sony lost 70 yen, or about 3 percent, to 2,400 yen despite announcing a new business strategy Thursday. Nissan Motor sank 30 yen, or about 5 percent, to 609 yen. Among notable gainers, Mizuho Financial Group, the morning volume leader, rose 2 yen, or over 1 percent, to 157 yen. Value leader Sumitomo Mitsui Financial Group gained 30 yen, also over 1 percent, to 2,750 yen. Trading volume on the main section came to 1,048.85 million shares, down from Thursday morning's 1,255.90 million. The TSE's Second Section index was down 7.10 points, or 0.36 percent, to 1,972.48 on a volume of 29.06 million shares. On the Osaka Securities Exchange, the near-term December Nikkei 225 index futures contract was down 120 points to 9,430. (c) 2009 Kyodo News International, Inc. |