Japan Stocks Fall for Third Day as Sony, Exporters Lead Decline
By Michael Tsang
quote.bloomberg.com
Tokyo, March 25 (Bloomberg) -- Japanese stocks fell for a third day, led by Sony Corp. and other exporters, on concern U.S. interest rates may rise, curbing demand from Japan's biggest trading partner.
Fujitsu Ltd. and other network equipment makers declined after Moody's Investors Service cut Lucent Technologies Inc.'s debt ratings, raising concern orders may not rebound soon.
The Nikkei 225 stock average lost 132.29, or 1.2 percent, to 11,212.79. The Topix shed 7.68, or 0.7 percent, to 1068.95. Computer-related companies as a group were the biggest decliners.
``With demand still weak, there are concerns a Fed rate hike could damp sentiment on U.S. spending,'' said Sadaharu Nagumo, who helps manage 800 billion yen ($6.2 billion) in Japanese equities for Japan Investment Trust Management Co.
Nagumo said he keeps his stake in computer-related companies in line with the Topix's 17.5 percent weighting. |
