Tokyo Shares End Dn On Thin Volume As Oil Stks,Shippers Weigh

AFP

By Juro Osawa
TOKYO (Dow Jones)--Tokyo stocks ended lower Monday on thin turnover with shipping and commodities stocks falling due to renewed concerns about global economic recovery prospects.

"The market is now aware that economic rebound hopes had been too high," said Yumi Nishimura, a market analyst at Daiwa Securities SMBC.

The Nikkei 225 Stock Average lost 135.20 points, or 1.4%, to 9680.87, falling for the fourth straight session. The Topix index of all the Tokyo Stock Exchange First Section issues fell 8.2 points, or 0.9%, to 912.42. Turnover ranked among the lowest seen so far this year, at about 1.6 billion shares, with the U.S. market closed on Friday.



September Nikkei 225 futures ended down 1.5% at 9690 on the Osaka Securities Exchange, and weighed on the cash market due to the latter's anemic volume, said Tamotsu Numazaki, manager at the futures and options division of Traders Securities. As has been seen in recent sessions, European brokerages were likely behind much of the futures selling, he added.

Market analysts say next week's earnings reports from U.S. financial firms will be key for Japan stocks.

"Investors are unloading their positions ahead of earnings," said Hideyuki Okoshi, head of equities at Chuo Securities. He said he expects the Nikkei to remain in a 9500-10,000 range for most of this week.

Shippers led the weaker broader market, with the Topix marine transport subindex's 3.6% fall pacing the decline. Nippon Yusen dropped 3.4% to Y396, while Mitsui O.S.K. Lines sank 4.4% to Y567.

Investors sold oil-related stocks on the view that crude prices will stay capped just above $70 a barrel for now, said one Japanese brokerage analyst. Shares of Japan Petroleum Exploration lost 3.1% to Y4,940.

Blue chip tech and auto shares were also lower as the dollar lost some ground against the yen to the mid-Y95 level during the stock trading session. Sony lost 1.2% to Y2,410, while Honda Motor fell 1.5% to Y2,580.