Japanese Stocks Fall, Paced by Sony; Softbank Falls For 7th Day
By Yukiko Takai
Tokyo, July 27 (Bloomberg) -- Japanese stocks fell, paced by computer-related stocks such as Sony Corp. after the company cut its earnings forecast amid slower-than-expected earnings report from U.S. peers.
Softbank Corp. extended its retreat for a seventh day after its president said in a newspaper interview the company may have to give up buying Nippon Credit Bank Ltd. if the Japanese government decides to change its terms on taking the bad loans of the failed lender.
``It's getting easier to find bad news on computer-related companies,'' said Minoru Tada, a director of World Nichiei Securities Co.'s equity department. ``It's a question mark if Softbank's business model works.''
The Nikkei 225 stock average dropped 183.14, or 1.1 percent, to 16,319.47. The Topix index of all shares on the Tokyo Stock Exchange's first section fell 15.26, or 1.0 percent, to 1,489.27.
Nikkei futures for September delivery declined 210 yen to 16,260 in Osaka and 205 yen to 16,260 in Singapore. Overseas investors sold 18.5 million more shares than they bought at the open through 14 brokerages.
Sony fell 230 yen to 10,480, erasing part of yesterday's 2.5 percent gain. The maker of the PlayStation 2 video game console said yesterday it expects to earn 10 billion yen for the year ending March 2001, down from an earlier forecast of 120 billion. It also cut its operating profit forecast by 10 percent for the year, citing a worldwide shortage of parts.
Fujitsu Ltd., Japan's largest computer maker, fell 55 yen to 2,995, after BMC Software Inc. and other U.S. computer-related companies gave slower earnings growth projections, raising earnings concern of similar Japanese companies.
Softbank
Softbank, one of the world's biggest backers of the Internet businesses, fell 370 yen to 10,230, extending its loss in the past seven day to 12 percent.
President Masayoshi Son said in an interview with the Nihon Keizai newspaper that the agreement to buy Nippon Credit Bank ``would have to be reconsidered and possibly be scrapped,'' if the Japanese government decides to change its plan to acquire the failed lender's bad loans.
A group of investors led by Softbank and Orix Corp., which had planned to acquire the nationalized bank on Aug. 1 from the government, believes a guarantee that the government will buy bad loans is a key part of the agreement, Son said. Orix, Japan's largest consumer credit and leasing company, saw many more sell orders than buy bids, meaning it couldn't trade under exchange rules. Shares were last offered at 14,150, down from its previous close of 14,750.
quote.bloomberg.com |
