Investors Await Business Survey
May 09, 2011
The Nikkei average of 225 selected issues gained 26.53 to 20910.27. Volume on the First Section of the Tokyo Stock Exchange was estimated at 202 million shares, down from 211.7 million shares Monday. Declining issues narrowly outnumbered advancers 497 to 463, while 235 were unchanged. Traders said Tuesday's rebound was due mostly to technical factors amid a lack of fresh news. Trading volume set another record low for the year, due to the wait-and-see mood ahead of the Wednesday release of the Tankan, the Bank of Japan's quarterly survey of business sentiment, traders said. High-technology issues were mostly higher Tuesday. Electrical equipment giant NEC gained 10 yen to 1,190, and computer maker Fujitsu also added 10 yen to 1,000 yen. Mitsubishi Electric rose 8 yen to 711. Among consumer electronics makers, Sony added 50 yen to 6,960 yen and Matsushita rose 20 yen to 1,900 yen on a strong earnings report. But shares of some semiconductor-manufacturing equipment makers suffered from concerns about declining profits in the current fiscal year. Tokyo Electron lost 90 yen to 3,030 yen. On Monday, the company cut its pretax profit forecast for the fiscal year ending March 2012 to 42 billion yen, from an initial forecast of 55 billion yen. Shares of Nikon, a major manufacturer of steppers used in chip production, also took a hit, falling 10 yen to 1,190 yen. Blood-plasma maker Green Cross' shares stemmed a week-long slide, finishing up 43 yen to 460 yen. Traders said the sharp fall in Green Cross's share price over the past several sessions was an overreaction to the company's agreement last week to a $60-million settlement in a U.S. court case concerning its shipments of non-heat treated blood products to patients. The Nikkei Stock Index 300, a weighted index of shares on the First Section of the Tokyo Stock Exchange, finished unchanged at 294.49. The Tokyo Stock Price Index of all issues listed on the First Section rose 0.25 to 1583.12. The Second Section Index fell 7.37 to 2106.93. Volume on the Second Section was estimated at seven million shares.
VastPress 2011 Vastopolis
