TOKYO STOCKS FLAT BY NOON
DATE: 28/05/2012
The Nikkei 225 index
at the Tokyo Stock Exchange gave up 0.02 percent, or 1.36 points, at 8,579.03.
The broader Topix index of all first-section shares slipped 0.34 percent, or
2.44 points, at 719.67.
Japan trade was likely
to remain quiet with US stocks idle on Monday due to the Memorial Day holiday,
traders said, a brief respite after the battering laid upon Japanese equity
markets in recent weeks.
"Tokyo shares
were down for the eighth straight week for the first time in decades last week,
showing that investors have now thrown out everything, including the baby, the
bath water, and the nurse," said CLSA equity strategist Nicholas Smith.
Markets won a measure
of support after opinion polls on Sunday showed Greece's conservative New
Democracy party is in the lead ahead of a June 17 vote. The news slightly
soothed worries that anti-austerity parties would prevail, which analysts warn
could ultimately leading to Greece's exit from the eurozone.
Despite little
movement in the overall market, Renesas Electronics slumped 10.25 percent to
245 yen after weekend reports that the microchip maker may cut up to 30 percent
of its workforce and sell one of its factories as part of a restructuring plan.
Renesas, which lost
62.6 billion yen ($788 million) in the year to March, also plans to raise 100
billion yen, mainly from its top shareholders NEC, Hitachi and Mitsubishi
Electric, the Nikkei business daily said.
"Though it's
still unclear how the firm is going to raise the capital, there is a
possibility it will issue new shares, which is raising fears of a share
dilution," a broker told Dow Jones Newswires.
Tokyo Electric Power,
the operator of the crippled Fukushima Daiichi nuclear power plant, ended the
morning unchanged at 156 yen after touching a record low of 146 yen.
On currency markets,
the euro, which briefly fell below $1.25 last week to hit its lowest level in
nearly two years, bought $1.2586 and 99.97 yen, from $1.2515 and 99.66 yen in
New York late Friday. The dollar changed hands at 79.42 yen from 79.64 yen in
New York.
POWERED BY: The Economic
Times
www.goldennifty.com
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