Japanese consumer lender shares slumped after the International Monetary Fund said losses at global financial companies may swell further. Elpida Memory Inc. led a gain by chipmakers after saying it plans to raise prices. Orix Corp., Japan’s largest non-bank financial company, dived 5.6 percent. Takefuji Corp., the nation’s No. 3 consumer lender by market value, and rival Promise Co. slumped at least 5.6 percent after Standard & Poor’s said it may lower their credit ratings. KDDI Corp., the nation’s No. 2 mobile-phone carrier, dropped 3.9 percent after Deutsche Bank AG said the company’s growth is slowing. Elpida, Japan’s largest maker of computer-memory chips, surged 15 percent. “Sentiment has improved but the market will remain stagnant until we see actual demand starting to pick up,” said Masaru Hamasaki, a senior strategist at Toyota Asset Management Co., which oversees about $3.3 billion. The Nikkei 225 Stock Average lost 20.44, or 0.2 percent, to 8,690.89 as of 12:49 p.m. in Tokyo, erasing an early 1.1 percent advance. The broader Topix index fell 4.76, or 0.6 percent, to 825.96, with almost three stocks declining for each that rose. The Nikkei has added 7.4 percent since the end of March through yesterday, set for the steepest monthly gain in a year, amid signs government stimulus efforts to halt the global recession are taking effect. Japan’s Ministry of Finance today said exports fell at a slower pace in March, ending a four-month stretch of record drops. Financial Losses Losses tied to distressed loans and securitized assets may reach $4.1 trillion worldwide by the end of 2010 as the recession and credit crisis weigh on financial institutions, the IMF said in a report yesterday. The fund forecast $2.7 trillion in losses from U.S.-originated loans and assets, compared with its estimates of $2.2 trillion in January. Orix sank 5.6 percent to 4,230 yen, leading its peers to the biggest decline among 33 industry groups on the Topix. Takefuji slumped 8.6 percent to 539 yen, and Promise lost 5.6 percent to 1,210 yen. Standard & Poor’s yesterday placed Takefuji and Promise on its CreditWatch with negative outlooks. Refunds of excess interest payments are likely to remain high as Japan’s economy slows, and credit ratings may be lowered if earnings worsen, S&P said in a report. KDDI dived 3.9 percent to 446,000 yen, while Nippon Telegraph & Telephone Corp., the nation’s biggest phone company, sank 2.2 percent to 3,640 yen. Kenji Nishimura, an analyst for Deutsche Bank, yesterday lowered his price estimate on KDDI by 16 percent to 525,000 yen, citing slowing growth. Chip Prices Elpida soared 15 percent to 1,252 yen, and NEC Electronics Corp., Japan’s No. 3 chipmaker, leapt 5.9 percent to 936 yen. Bigger rival Toshiba Corp. added 5.9 percent to 343 yen. Elpida plans to raise prices by as much as 50 percent next month after industry-wide production cuts eased a glut, President Yukio Sakamoto said in an interview yesterday. The company may ask the Japanese government for funding of about 50 billion yen ($509 million) in exchange for preferred stock, the Nikkei newspaper reported today, without saying where it obtained the information. Kawasaki Kisen Kaisha Ltd., Japan’s third-biggest shipping line, climbed 2.2 percent to 420 yen. Nippon Yusen K.K., the No. 1, added 2.1 percent to 446 yen. The Baltic Dry Index of commodity-shipping costs climbed for a seventh-straight day yesterday to the highest level in a month. Nikkei futures expiring in June retreated 0.8 percent to 8,700 in Osaka and fell 0.5 percent to 8,695 in Singapore.

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