Tokyo stocks end down on weak tech shares
Reuters Story - March 05, 1998 01:26
%JP %STX %.T INTC 8318.T 8604.T 8603.T 6758.T 6971.T 6702.T 8314.T 8317.T 7201.T V%REUTER P%RTR
TOKYO, March 5 (Reuters) - Tokyo stocks ended lower on
Thursday due to weakness in high-technology issues following
U.S. chip giant Intel Corp's earnings warning overnight
and a lack of fresh news about steps for the economy.
The key 225 Nikkei average finished down 1.45 percent or
247.05 points at 16,848.55.
Its March futures were down 220 at 16,830.
Investors found it hard to actively sell shares, however, as
they believed Japanese policy-makers were apparently trying to
push the Nikkei average to above 18,000 by the end of March.
The Nikkei average moved in a narrow range of about 165
points and first-section trading volume was a light 398 million
shares, following on from Wednesday's 378 million shares.
Declining issues outpaced advancing issues 909 to 220 with
137 issues unchanged.
High-tech issues were sold due to Intel's overnight
announcement that its first-quarter earnings would be
disappointing because of lower-than-anticipated demand from
personal computer makers. Falls in high-techs and profit-taking
in domestic-demand-related issues contributed the drop in Nikkei
average, brokers said.
There was no apparent progress regarding expected economic
support steps. Some brokers even expressed worries about whether
the steps would prove timely and effective.
Investors think smooth passage of the regular budget for
fiscal 1998/99 by the Lower House is prerequisite for a decision
on the economic steps. But on Thursday, opposition members
boycotted the Lower House budget committee in a protest against
the ruling Liberal Democratic Party.
"The budget committee is being held in an irregular way and
that dampened market sentiment," Okasan Securities strategist
Akihiko Naemura said.
Naemura added that investors were also reluctant due to a
media report on Thursday that LDP Secretary-General Koichi Kato
had expressed a negative view about a large-scale income tax
cut.
Brokers have said the market wants powerful economic
measures such as a continuation of tax cuts accompanying fiscal
spending to ensure economic recovery.
Scandals in which Finance Ministry officials are allegedly
involved have cast a shadow over the stock market but they have
not yet had a clearly negative impact, brokers said.
Two finance ministry officials were arrested on Thursday on
suspicion of accepting bribes from Sumitomo Bank Ltd ,
Nomura Securities and Nikko Securities .
"Opposition parties would not like to delay debate over the
budget by grilling low-ranking officials, although they might
think investigating scandals more important than budgetary
debate if they involved senior ones," one broker said.
Earlier this week, Finance Minister Hikaru Matsunaga said an
investigation would be reopened after allegations of influence
peddling against top financial bureaucrat Eisuke Sakakibara were
raised in parliament.
On Thursday the broad-based TOPIX index fell 1.14 percent or
14.66 points to 1,276.26. The Nikkei 300 was down 1.11 percent
or 2.83 points at 252.10.
Among high-tech issues, Sony Corp ended down 500 at
11,100 and Kyocera Corp fell 390 to 6,950. Fujitsu Ltd
was down 20 at 1,380.
But Yukihiko Shimada, a senior analyst at Wako Research
Institute, said: "Considering Japanese semiconductor makers'
future fundamentals, it is unlikely their share prices will fall
sharply further." Their business was expected to hit bottom in
the year starting April 1, Shimada added.
Banks were mostly lower despite the announcement by a number
of them on Wednesday of restructuring plans aimed at getting
public money under a government bailout scheme.
Sakura Bank Ltd fell eight yen to 537 and Fuji Bank
Ltd was down 10 at 1,020, both in active trade.
Nissan Motor Co Ltd was down 21 at 515 also in
active trade. Sales of Nissan vehicles produced in North America
fell sharply in February. |
