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Japan Hot Stocks-Property firms, Asahi Breweries, Takara Print

Reuters - Friday, July 4

TOKYO, July 4 - The benchmark Nikkei average <.N225> fell 0.6 percent and the broader TOPIX <.TOPX> lost 0.5 percent by 0524 GMT on Friday.

The following stocks were on the move: **URBAN <8868.T> TANKS ON WORRIES ABOUT CREDIT RISKS**

Shares of apartment developer Urban Corp tumbled 30.4 percent to 183 yen, leading a sharp decline among some mid-size property companies on speculation they could be risky investments following a handful of recent bankruptcies in the sector.

"I don't know what kind of information people are basing their sell-off on, but at this point, a lot of people are selling on worries about credit risks," said Credit Suisse analyst Masahiro Mochizuki.

Last month's bankruptcy of real estate developer Suruga Corp <1880.T> has made investors worried that others in the sector might go bust as they suffer from tight financing, soaring construction material prices and weak apartment sales.

Among other property stocks hit by selling, Joint Corp <8874.T> dropped 13.7 percent to 477 yen, Kenedix Inc <4321.T> slid 8.7 percent to 104,000 yen and Nomura Real Estate Holdings <3231.T> fell 8.0 percent to 2,015 yen.

Zephyr Co <8882.T>, which announced the bankruptcy of a subsidiary in May, dropped 6.4 percent to 19,790 yen. 0524 GMT **ASAHI BREWERIES <2502.T> SLIDES ON RATINGS DOWNGRADE**

Asahi Breweries Ltd, Japan's largest beer brewer in terms of market share, slid 4.4 percent to 1,833 yen after Morgan Stanley downgraded it to "Equal-weight" from "Overweight", citing rising costs and falling demand.

"Customers are responding increasingly to high prices by economising, and we think it more and more likely that demand for alcoholic beverages will pull back," analyst Taizo Demura wrote in a report. 0502 GMT **TAKARA PRINTING <7921.T> JUMPS ON STRONG PROFIT OUTLOOK**

Takara Printing Co Ltd leapt 8.3 percent to 865 yen after it said operating profit would likely soar 54.1 percent to 1.98 billion yen for the year ending in May 2009, buoyed by sales of software that helps companies file documents on a new reporting system.

The firm also said it would buy back its own shares worth up to 500 million yen, or 3.9 percent of outstanding shares, between Aug 1 and Jan 30, 2009.

Starting this year, Japanese companies are required to file their financial reports in a computer language known as XBRL. 0452 GMT **SECOM <9735.T>, SOHGO SECURITY <2331.T> FALL ON MS DOWNGRADE**

Shares of Secom Co and Sohgo Security Services Co fell after Morgan Stanley cut its ratings on Japan's top two security service firms to "equal-weight" from "overweight", predicting their earnings will fall short of market expectations.

"We doubt that the security services industry is the safe, defensive industry that the stock market expects it to be this term," Morgan Stanley analyst Naoshi Nema wrote in a note to clients.

Secom fell 3.6 percent to 5,090 yen. Sohgo Security Services dropped 4.4 percent to 1,226 yen. 0421 GMT **JAPAN COMMUNICATIONS <9424.OJ> LIMIT-UP ON 3G LAUNCH**

Japan Communications Inc was bid up to its daily limit to 85,200 yen, up 13 percent, after the mobile venture said it would launch its 3G mobile access service in August, going after laptop users who need wireless Internet access only one to two hours at a time.

The venture, which uses NTT DoCoMo Inc's <9437.T> 3G mobile network, seeks to differentiate itself from rivals who tend to offer unlimited access to heavy users.

Japan Communications said it would offer pay-as-you-go payment plans, starting with 39,900 yen for 150 hours' access, accessible for 480 days. **0415 GMT **JAPAN MEDICAL <7600.T> UP AFTER TIE-UP WITH ITOCHU <8001.T>**

Japan Medical Dynamic Marketing Inc, an importer and wholesaler of medical appliances, soared by its daily limit after announcing on Thursday that it was entering a capital alliance with Itochu Corp, a major trading house.

Itochu will pay 2.3 billion yen for a 30 percent stake in the company, making it the top shareholder. The money will be used to develop new products and help make the company's distribution system more efficient.

Japan Medical rose 27.8 percent to 368 yen. Itochu was up 0.2 percent at 1,105 yen. 0353 GMT

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