Yesterday’ strength of yen put pressure on shares of Japanese exporters. The markets also fall amid continued concerns over unresolved U.S. and European debt problems
Canon , which receives more than three-quarters of its revenues from abroad, fell 2.8% and Honda Motor dropped by 2%.
Banks also suffered losses: Mitsubishi UFJ fell 2.5% and Mizuho Financial Group shed 2.3%.
Sony Corp. shed by 2.5% and Nintendo Co. plunged by 3.7%. As for auto makers, Honda Motor Co. lost 2%.
Banks retreated in line with losses for US and European peers on Monday: Mitsubishi UFJ fell 2.5 per cent to Y383 and Mizuho Financial Group shed 2.3 per cent to Y126.
Kansai Electric fell 3.3 per cent to Y1,393 after closing down one of its nuclear reactors due to a malfunction.
Japan’s Nikkei 225 Average shed 0.9 per cent to 9,889.72 on relatively slim volume of 1.5bn shares. The broader Topix index lost 0.7 per cent to 853.75,
European stocks gained, rebounding from a seven-month low, as companies from Novartis AG (NOVN) to International Business Machines Corp. reported earnings that beat estimates.Novartis, Europe’s second-biggest drugmaker by sales, climbed the most in three months. SAP AG (SAP) led a rally in technology companies after IBM boosted its forecasts. Nordea Bank AB (NDA) soared 5.7 percent after profit increased. Electrolux AB (ELUXB), the world’s second-biggest appliance maker, plunged the most in four years as results trailed projections.IBM, the world’s biggest computer-services company, reported revenue that beat analysts’ estimates and boosted its full-year profit forecast late yesterday as companies bought more software and equipment. Thirty-one of the 36 companies in the Standard & Poor’s 500 Index that have reported results since July 11 topped per-share profit projections, data compiled by Bloomberg show.
President Barack Obama and congressional leaders are making little progress in debt-reduction talks after House Speaker John Boehner said all sides must settle for a smaller plan than the president seeks. Obama is holding his fifth round of public remarks on the debt in a week today as he presses lawmakers to reach an agreement to raise the $14.3 trillion U.S. borrowing ceiling before an Aug. 2 deadline.European Union government chiefs plan to meet for the second time in a month on July 21, aiming to break a deadlock over a new Greek rescue that has spooked investors. Spanish and Italian bonds yields surged yesterday, piling pressure on officials to end the turmoil. Spain sold 4.45 billion euros ($6.3 billion) of 12-month and 18-month bills today.U.S. stocks rose, sending the Standard & Poor’s 500 Index rebounding from a three-week low, after International Business Machines Corp. (IBM)’s profit topped estimates and PresidentBarack Obama endorsed a plan to cut the federal deficit.IBM, the biggest computer-services company, climbed 5.1 percent as technology shares had the biggest gains among 10 groups in the S&P. Coca-Cola, the largest soft-drink company, rose 3.6 percent after results beat estimates and the company said it plans to buy back shares. All 12 stocks in an S&P gauge of homebuilders advanced after U.S. housing starts increased to a five-month high. Bank of America Corp. (BAC) fell 2.3 percent after reporting the biggest quarterly loss in its history.
The S&P 500 declined 4.3 percent through yesterday from a three-year high in April amid speculation that the sovereign debt crisis in Europe is spreading across the region and concern that U.S. lawmakers will fail to reach a deal on raising the nation’s debt limit before the Aug. 2 deadline. The drop has left the gauge trading at 14.8 times reported earnings, the cheapest this month, according to data compiled by Bloomberg.
The S&P 500 has still rallied 93 percent since March 2009 as the Federal Reserve maintained a policy of record-low interest rates and emergency stimulus to spur growth in the world’s largest economy.
U.S. stocks extended gains as President Barack Obama backed a bipartisan plan to cut the federal deficit, spurring optimism that lawmakers will reach an agreement that will help the nation avoid default.
Obama called the revival of the so-called Gang of Six proposal “good news” that may help negotiations on the deficit and the federal debt ceiling progress. The plan is “a very significant step,” Obama said in remarks at the White House.
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