Japanese stocks fell, capping the longest losing streak in almost two months, as a stronger yen and media reports Sony Corp. and Toshiba Corp. will post losses stoked concern other companies will have disappointing earnings. Sony lost 8.9 percent on a newspaper report it will likely post its first operating loss in 14 years. Toshiba fell 8.6 percent after broadcaster NHK said the first time in seven years. Toyota Motor Corp., which counts North America as its biggest market by unit sales, dropped 6.4 percent after the yen appreciated to the strongest level in almost a month yesterday. Mitsubishi Estate Co. sank 9.2 percent after real-estate companies filed for bankruptcy on Jan. 9. “Given that Sony and Toyota are coming out with gloomy outlooks, we expect more major companies to do the same,” said Mitsushige Akino, chief investment officer who oversees about $430 million at Tokyo-based Ichiyoshi Investment Management Co. “We have yet to see significant dividend cuts, but once companies do that, it will weigh heavily on markets.” The Nikkei 225 Stock Average declined 422.89, or 4.8 percent, to close at 8,413.91 in Tokyo. The broader Topix index fell 40.90, or 4.8 percent, to 814.12. The gauges slumped for a third day, the longest losing streak since Nov. 20. Japan’s market was closed for a national holiday yesterday when the MSCI AC Asia Pacific excluding Japan Index fell 3.2 percent. Rising Bankruptcies Rising bankruptcies and the dimmer outlook for company earnings damped investor confidence in equities, triggering a flight to safer government debt. Dividend yields on Topix constituents rose to 2.62 percent as of Jan. 9, according to data compiled by Bloomberg, twice the returns of 10-year government bonds. Sony will likely post an operating loss of about 100 billion yen ($1.1 billion) for the year to March 31, the Nikkei newspaper reported today. The median of analyst estimates compiled by Bloomberg showed 35 billion yen in profit. Meanwhile, its worsening chip business pushed Toshiba to post a loss for this fiscal year, public broadcaster NHK said today. Nikkei futures expiring in March retreated 4.8 percent to 8,430 in Osaka and slumped 3.3 percent to 8,425 in Singapore.

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