BLBG:Nikkei Slips From Seven-Month High as Oil Prices Weigh on Energy Companies
The Nikkei 225 Stock Average (NKY) retreated from a seven-month high as a strengthening yen clouded the earnings outlook for exporters to Europe and falling oil prices weighed on energy companies.
Shares also slipped after China’s Premier Wen Jiabao targeted the slowest economic growth since 2004. Sony Corp. (6758), Japan’s biggest exporter of consumer electronics, sank 3.3 percent. Inpex Corp. (1605), the country’s top energy explorer by market value, dropped 2.1 percent. Fast Retailing Co. gained 1.4 percent after the operator of Uniqlo clothing stores said sales rose for a third month.
“Japanese stocks have had a strong rally and technical indicators suggest some overheating,” said Yumi Nishimura, analyst at Daiwa Securities Group Inc. “Sectors that have been performing strongly are slipping back a little, while investors are buying defensive shares that have gained a little less.”
The Nikkei 225 fell 0.8 percent to 9,698.59 at the 3 p.m. close in Tokyo, declining after the gauge rose last week to its highest level since Aug. 2. The broader Topix lost 0.6 percent to 832.86 today. The 25-day Toraku, which tracks the ratio of winners to losers on the Tokyo Stock Exchange, held for a 15th day above 120, a level indicating to traders shares are poised to fall.
To contact the reporters on this story: Norie Kuboyama in Tokyo at nkuboyama@bloomberg.net; Satoshi Kawano in Tokyo at skawano1@bloomberg.net
To contact the editor responsible for this story: Nick Gentle at ngentle2@bloomberg.net
