Skip navigation
logo
(AFX UK Focus) 2009-11-25 02:33
Nikkei flat after hitting 4-mth low, JAL gains
Article layout: raw

TOKYO, Nov 25 (Reuters) - Japan's Nikkei stock average was flat on Wednesday after hitting a four-month intraday low, with tech shares and banks sold amid persistent concerns about equity funding, a rising yen and uncertainty about government economic policy. Japan Airlines Corp edged up 2.3 percent a day after its shares fell to a record low on growing investor worries that Asia's largest airline by revenue could face bankruptcy as it struggles to win an agreement on pension cuts.

Analysts said that while short-covering dominated on Wednesday, the market remained under pressure from a number of long-term concerns. "Certainly there seem to be divisions in the government and this means investors currently have no good idea of which direction it's going to move in, which increases distrust," said Hiroaki Osakabe, a fund manager at Chibagin Asset Management.

"But there are also a lot of worries about equity funding and the impact of the strong yen on company balance sheets."

The benchmark Nikkei edged up 3.60 points to 9,405.18 after earlier falling as low as 9,366.33, a four-month intraday low. The broader Topix was also flat at 829.03.

Analysts were wary, noting that the Nikkei has neared a crucial support line at the 200-day moving average, which now comes in around 9,350, and that whether it can hold the line here may be critical for future moves.

The dollar fell to its lowest in seven weeks against the yen and was down 0.3 percent at 88.22 yen by midday. (Reporting by Elaine Lies; editing by Joseph Radford) ((elaine.lies@thomsonreuters.com; +81 3 6441 1807; Reuters Messaging:elaine.lies.reuters.com@reuters.net))
Keywords: MARKETS JAPAN STOCKS Reuters Terminal users can see other related news and rates by double-clicking on: All Nikkei indices All shares listed on Nikkei-225 N225 index TOPIX index Nikkei Japan 1000 TOPIX sector data Nikkei 300 index TOPIX futures data Osaka N225 data Chicago N225 data Top 30 by volume Top 30 by value Total volume Total value 1st section sector RICs All TSE weighted avg Top 30 gainers by pct Top 30 losers by pct Top 30 net gainers Top 30 net losers Active Japanese stocks Japan economic indicators ASIA-PACIFIC STOCK MARKETS: Pan-Asia Japan S.Korea S.E. Asia Hong Kong Taiwan Australia/NZ India China OTHER MARKETS: Wall Street Gold Currency Eurostocks Oil JP bonds ADR Report LME metals US bonds Stocks News US Stocks News Europe DIARIES & DATA: IPO diary & data Asia earnings diary U.S. earnings diary European diary Japan diary Wall Street Week Ahead Eurostocks Week Ahead TOP NEWS: For top Asian company news: Top News Japan U.S. company news Europe company news Forex news Global Economy news All Equity news Tech, Media, Telecoms Banking news Politics/General news Asia Macro data A multimedia version of Reuters Top News is available at: http://topnews.session.rservices.com LIVE PRICES & DATA: World stocks Currencies Dow Jones/NASDAQ Debt FTSE 100 LME price overview Yen/dollar

(Multimedia versions of Reuters Top News are now available for: * 3000 Xtra : visit http://topnews.session.rservices.com * BridgeStation: view story .134 * Reuters Plus: from your WebDSS screen For more information on Top News, visit http://topnews.reuters.com)

COPYRIGHT

Copyright Thomson Reuters 2009. All rights reserved. The copying, republication or redistribution of Reuters News Content, including by framing or similar means, is expressly prohibited without the prior written consent of Thomson Reuters.

Stocks
Article layout: raw
Jump back to site navigation