BLBG: Japan Stocks Rebound From Rout, Led by Discounters, Utilities
By Masaki Kondo
Dec. 3 (Bloomberg) -- Japanese stocks rebounded from yesterday’s plunge after recession-conscious consumers boosted sales at discount retailers and lower oil prices brightened the earnings prospects for utilities.
Fast Retailing Co., Asia’s biggest clothing company, surged by its 10 percent limit after monthly sales jumped to a record. Seven & I Holdings Co., operator of Japan’s largest convenience store chain, climbed 12 percent after Macquarie Securities Ltd. raised its rating on expectations lunch box sales will boost earnings. Tokyo Electric Power Co. gained 4 percent after oil fell for a third session yesterday. Honda Motor Co. led automakers lower after its U.S. sales sank the most in 27 years.
“Consumers are shifting to more affordable goods from higher-priced ones,” said Kiyoshi Ishigane, a Tokyo-based senior strategist at Mitsubishi UFJ Asset Management Co., which oversees about $61 billion. “In this economic climate, nobody’s eager to buy pricy stuff like Japanese beef or blowfish.”
The Nikkei 225 Stock Average climbed 140.41, or 1.8 percent, to close at 8,004.10 in Tokyo. The broader Topix index advanced 12.07, or 1.5 percent, to 799.19, with almost three stocks rising for each that fell. Yesterday, both gauges posted the biggest retreat since Nov. 20.
The collapse of the American mortgage market sparked a financial crisis that pushed the U.S., Europe and Japan into the first simultaneous recession in the post-World War II era. Wages fell in October for the first time this year, Japan’s government said this week, while a Labor Ministry survey showed businesses plan to fire about 30,000 temporary and part-time workers.
Nikkei futures expiring in December added 1.9 percent to 8,030 in Osaka and gained 1.3 percent to 8,025 in Singapore.
To contact the reporter for this story: Masaki Kondo in Tokyo at mkondo3@bloomberg.net.
