Nikkei slips as banks down, exporters fall on yen Tue Jan 20, 2009 12:59am GMT Email | Print | Share | Single Page [-] Text [+] MARKET NEWS UPDATE 1-Kumba says Q4 production, sales hit, shares fall CORRECTED - STOCKS NEWS EUROPE-Medicsight down; product delay on FDA request STOCKS NEWS US-Intel cuts prices by as much as 48 pct: Bloomberg More Business & Investing News... (Updates to midmorning) TOKYO, Jan 20 (Reuters) - Japan's Nikkei stock average slipped 3.1 percent on Tuesday as Mizuho Financial Group (8411.T) and other banks fell after financial stocks fared poorly overseas, with a stronger yen pushing exporters lower. With Wall Street closed on Monday for a holiday, Japanese investors were taking their cue from Europe, where British shares fell as the Royal Bank of Scotland (RBS.L) nosedived after posting the biggest loss in UK corporate history, lead the banking sector down. [ID:nLJ123391] "The weaker yen and falls in European shares, especially banks, are weighing on the market, although in some senses this is only an excuse to sell," said Masayoshi Okamoto, head of dealing at Okasan Securities. "Investors are waiting to see what (U.S. President-elect Barack) Obama says about the economy in his inaugural speech, and how Wall Street responds." The dollar slipped against the yen by midmorning to fetch around 90.44 yen, weighing on exporters, whose profits decline when repatriated if the yen is strong. The benchmark Nikkei .N225 shed 259.40 points to 7,995.45, while the broader Topix lost 2.3 percent to 799.02. Trading houses such as Mitsubishi Corp (8058.T) took a hit after oil prices fell nearly $2 in electronic trading as supply concerns eased, with Russia and Ukraine signing a gas deal and Israel and Hamas implementing a ceasefire in Gaza. [O/R] New York crude for February delivery CLc1 was trading at around $34.55 a barrel, close to levels late on Monday when the exchange did not issue an official settlement price due to the U.S. holiday. Mitsubishi, Japan's largest trading house, lost 4 percent to 1,239 yen and fellow trader Mitsui & Co (8031.T) fell 3.3 percent to 891 yen. Itochu Corp (8001.T) fell 5.2 percent to 436 yen. Mizuho Financial Group shed 4.9 percent to 231 yen and Sumitomo Mitsui Financial Group (8316.T) lost 3.3 percent to 3,550 yen. Mitsubishi UFJ Financial Group (8306.T) fell 1.9 percent to 506 yen. Among big exporters, Canon Inc (7751.T) lost 2.5 percent to 2,730 yen, Sony Corp (6758.T) lost 4.1 percent to 1,993 yen, and Toyota Motor (7203.T) fell 2.0 percent to 2,970 yen. But Kirin Holdings Co (2503.T), Japan's second-largest brewery, bucked the trend to edge higher after it said it plans to buy a 43 percent stake in the beer unit of the Philippine conglomerate San Miguel Corp (SMC.PS), a deal that will likely cost it at least $1.26 billion. [ID:nT218229] (Reporting by Elaine Lies; Editing by Hugh Lawson)
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