On the back of solid U.S. gains (with the tech-heavy Nasdaq rising 1.8%) and a weakening of the yen (dollar at ¥102.20 from ¥101.85 a day ago), how could the Nikkei Average not rise?
In the early minutes, the Nikkei is up 1.9%, obliterating yesterday’s 0.4% drop, and the broader Topix is ahead by 1.7%, with the tech exporters riding higher in a benevolent forex environment.
Among the majors, Panasonic is up 2.3%, Fujitsu is up 2.2%, and TDK is up 2.1%.
Shares of Sony are underperforming just slightly with 1.4% gain, one day ahead of the blue chip’s earnings announcement. And according to the Nikkei, those results will be weak enough that top Sony executives are expected to forgo their bonuses for the year.
And then there are the earnings, with the majority getting an approving smile from buyers of equities.
Stock in Sharp, for instance, is higher by 6.6% after the electronics major swung to a profit and predicted that said profit would nearly triple in the current fiscal year.
Also enjoying a strong earnings buzz, Nissan Motor is trading 4.8% higher after recording an almost 5% bump in quarterly earnings, and with CEO Carlos Ghosn promising improvements to the bottom line this year thanks to recent investments in new factories and car models.
Likewise, real-estate firm Mitsui Fudosan is up 4.6%, Isuzu Motors is up 3.5%, and Bank of Yokohama is up 4.7%, all following their respective earnings.
But, of course, it’s not all gains — shares of Hitachi are down 3.6% after the conglomerate posted a record annual operating profit but also projected drop in net earnings for the fiscal year that began last month. To top it off, Hitachi CEO Hiroaki Nakanishi said the company is looking at possible acquisitions related to General Electric’s planned purchase of Alstom energy assets.
And speaking of deals, shares of Mitsubishi Chemical are up 4.5% as the company plans to buy a majority of gas producer Taiyo Nippon Sanso, with an eye to exploiting shale-related demand in the U.S. Shares of Taiyo Nippon are 13.3% higher.
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