Sunday November 18, 10:19 AM
Tokyo stocks likely to brace for bank earnings
By Kiyoshi Takenaka
sg.biz.yahoo.com
TOKYO (Reuters) - Tokyo stocks are expected to struggle this week as recent gains fuelled by optimism over U.S. consumer spending and progress in the U.S.-led campaign in Afghanistan are likely to lose momentum, market players said.
"Despite widespread optimism, war between the United States and Taliban soldiers may have just been transformed into war between the U.S. and Taliban guerrillas," said Masaaki Higashida, deputy general manager at Nomura Securities.
"It could be time for euphoria to give way to caution over the recent sharp advance in stock markets."
Domestically, worries about the sluggish economy which hurt manufacturers last week and a faster pace in the sale of cross-held shares are expected to cap the upside, traders said.
Market attention will remain on the performance of bank shares and earnings announcements from the major lenders this week as they will be accompanied by fresh problem loan data and possibly new restructuring plans.
Nagging worries about slow progress in bad loan disposals have kept bank stocks on a prolonged downtrend, eroding investor confidence in the health of Japan's financial system.
UFJ Holdings Inc <8307>, one of Japan's four mega-banks, and Sumitomo Trust & Banking Co Ltd <8403> are set to unveil earnings on Thursday, followed by Mizuho Holdings Inc <8305>, the world's largest banking group by assets, on November 26.
The benchmark Nikkei average rose 1.52 percent to 10,649.09 on Friday as a softer yen and hopes for a steadier Wall Street swept up technology exporters such as Fujitsu Ltd <6702>. The Nikkei was up 4.24 percent on the week.
The blue-chip Dow Jones industrial average gave up 5.40 points to close the week at 9,866.99, while the technology-driven Nasdaq composite index eased 1.99 points to 1,898.58.
Japan's long-battered high-tech exporters, many of which rely on the U.S. market for sales, came into favour late last week after the U.S. government said total retail sales surged 7.1 percent in October, the strongest rise for any month on record. |
