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Japanese stocks retreated to a one-week low on Monday morning as the yen rebounded against the dollar after US jobs data fell short of expectations, while Nippon Telegraph and Telephone Corp sold off heavily on a profit warning.
The benchmark Nikkei share average dropped 0.8 per cent to 14,752.04 after falling to as low as 16,713.37, the weakest level since October 31.
NTT tumbles on profit warning
NTT tumbled 6.4 per cent to a two-week low after the telecommunication company cut its full-year operating profit outlook to ¥1.095 trillion from ¥1.215 trillion, hit by its weak mobile phone business. It was the fourth-most traded stock by turnover.
Traders said that the Nikkei is likely pull back further this week given the sharp rally since October 31, thanks to the Bank of Japan’s surprise move to ease policy further and a decision by the Government Pension Investment Fund to increase its allocation of funds to domestic stocks.
Foreigners, who were net sellers in Japanese futures for the past five weeks, bought ¥831.7 billion ($7.21 billion) worth of Japanese futures during October 27-31, according to data provided by the Osaka Exchange. It was the biggest purchase on record, Nomura Securities said.
“Given the extremely aggressive buying recently, the market is prone to profit-taking,’’ said Hiroyuki Nakai, senior executive director at Tokai Tokyo Research Center.
“Investors seem to be satisfied after the Nikkei traded above the 17,000-mark and the dollar rose above 115 yen.’’
Exporters languished after the dollar slid to 114.45 yen from a seven-year high of 115.60 after US jobs data missed forecasts. Toyota Motor Corp dropped 1.2 per cent, Honda Motor Co shed 0.6 per cent and Advantest Corp fell 0.5 per cent.
Sneaker manufacturer Asics Corp rose as much as 7.1 per cent after it hiked its net profit outlook for the year ending December to ¥20 billion from the previously forecast ¥17.5 billion.
The broader Topix shed 0.3 per cent to 1,359.87, and the JPX-Nikkei Index 400 declined 0.3 per cent to 12,405.95.
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