Asia Markets: Japan stocks stumble again, with earnings on deck

By V. Phani Kumar, MarketWatch

HONG KONG (MarketWatch) ? Most Asian stocks retreated Monday, with Japanese equities skidding as a firm yen further dragged on the nation?s exporters, while Chinese shares lost ground amid economic worries.

Japan?s Nikkei Stock Average /quotes/zigman/5986735 JP:NIK -2.26% ?fell 2.3% to 13,810.04, dropping below the 14,000-point level for the first time since July 4 and looking set for a fourth straight day of losses. The benchmark had retreated 3% on Friday.

A firm yen keeps Japanese stocks on track for a fourth straight day of losses.

The day?s losses came ahead of a busy week of earnings, with Toyota Motor Corp. /quotes/zigman/199438 JP:7203 -3.09% /quotes/zigman/199376/quotes/nls/tm TM -2.40% ,?Honda Motor Co. /quotes/zigman/193651 JP:7267 -2.64% ? /quotes/zigman/193599/quotes/nls/hmc HMC -1.70% ,?Sony Corp. /quotes/zigman/197500 JP:6758 -3.47% /quotes/zigman/197524/quotes/nls/sne SNE -2.40% ?and Softbank Corp. /quotes/zigman/139194 JP:9984 -2.45% ? /quotes/zigman/139200/quotes/nls/sftbf SFTBF -2.36% due to announce their quarterly results and update their outlook.

?Net income is expected to surge as much at 75% for multinationals and 33% for domestic-facing firms, ... with Abenomics sending the yen into a 20% deflation spiral over the last 12 months,? said IG Markets strategist Evan Lucas, referring to the economic policies initiated by Japanese Prime Minister Shinzo Abe.

The U.S. dollar /quotes/zigman/4868099/sampled USDJPY -0.2434% ?has risen nearly 25% against the yen over the last 12 months, boosting Japanese exporters? global competitiveness and repatriated profits. The euro /quotes/zigman/4868097/sampled EURJPY -0.2551% has risen more than 34% against the Japanese currency over the last year.

On Monday, however, concerns over the U.S. dollar?s recent fall against the yen weighed on shares of companies with a large overseas exposure.

Shares of Toshiba Corp. /quotes/zigman/198925 JP:6502 -4.97% ? /quotes/zigman/529244/quotes/nls/tosyy TOSYY -3.26% ?gave up 5%, and Japan Tobacco Inc. /quotes/zigman/140130 JP:2914 -4.19% ? /quotes/zigman/140138/quotes/nls/japaf JAPAF -1.73% ?lost 4.2%, while JFE Holdings Inc. /quotes/zigman/304502 JP:5411 -5.80% ? /quotes/zigman/304509/quotes/nls/jfeef JFEEF +7.76% ?slumped 5.8%, also weighed by a profit outlook that missed expectations

Renesas Electronics Corp. /quotes/zigman/326601 JP:6723 -6.52% /quotes/zigman/593649/quotes/nls/rnecy RNECY +3.67% tumbled 6.5% after the Nikkei newspaper reported on Friday the company had firmed plans to shut down a chip foundry in Japan?s Yamagata prefecture.

Is there a bubble in equity markets?

Are recent U.S. stock prices running too far ahead of profit growth?

On the upside, shares of Fanuc Corp. /quotes/zigman/192770 JP:6954 +3.84% /quotes/zigman/527618/quotes/nls/fanuy FANUY +0.77% jumped 3.8% to rank among the few gainers, after the industrial automation firm reported better-than-forecast fiscal first-quarter results.

Shares of Telecommunications firm KDDI Corp. /quotes/zigman/139564 JP:9433 +0.78% /quotes/zigman/527466/quotes/nls/kddiy KDDIY -1.80% ?rose 0.8%, after the Nikkei newspaper reported was expected to post a record-high operating profit, helped in part by increased subscriptions for plans related to Apple Inc.?s /quotes/zigman/68270/quotes/nls/aapl AAPL +0.57% ?iPhone.

But Nomura Holdings Inc. /quotes/zigman/196701 JP:8604 -3.94% ? /quotes/zigman/296367/quotes/nls/nmr NMR -1.74% ?slid 3.9% in the downbeat market, even as the broker reported a sharp surge in quarterly profits from the year-ago period. The stock is still up more than 50% so far in 2013.

Meanwhile, official data released before the stock market?s open showed Japan?s retail sales climbed 1.6% in June from the year-ago month, though just short of forecasts.

Elsewhere in the region, the Shanghai Composite /quotes/zigman/1859015 CN:SHCOMP -1.57% fell 1.2%, after also dropping in the previous three days, and Hong Kong?s Hang Seng Index /quotes/zigman/2622475 HK:HSI -0.59% ?declined 0.5%.

The drop followed data from the National Bureau of Statistics over the weekend, showing that Chinese industrial profits rose 6.3% in June from the same month a year earlier. The increase compared with a 15.5% rise in profits in May, according to a Bloomberg report.

/quotes/zigman/1859015 SHCOMP 1,979.38, -31.47, -1.57%
/quotes/zigman/627449 DJIA 15,558.83, +3.22, +0.02%

Year-to-date percentage changes

The Shanghai Composite underperforms the Dow Jones Industrial Average

Cr?dit Agricole strategist Dariusz Kowalczyk said the slowdown in profits fits the picture of weakening momentum in the economy, but it may also prompt policy action to support the government?s targeted economic growth of 7.5% for 2013.

?The weaker the numbers now, the stronger the government?s response will be to revive growth,? Kowalczyk said.

The drop in Chinese equities also came after Beijing ordered China?s National Audit Office to conduct an urgent review of overall public debt.

Banks and property developers suffered declines, with Bank of Communications Co. /quotes/zigman/34374 HK:3328 -1.75% ? /quotes/zigman/527616/quotes/nls/bcmxy BCMXY +0.52% ?or BoCom, losing 1.6%, and China Overseas Land & Investment Ltd. /quotes/zigman/13931 HK:688 -1.36% ? /quotes/zigman/527919/quotes/nls/caovy CAOVY +2.06% ?shed 0.7% in Hong Kong.

In Shanghai, BoCom /quotes/zigman/1875309 CN:601328 -1.33% ?fell 1.3%, and real-estate major Gemdale Corp. /quotes/zigman/1867160 CN:600383 -2.87% ?stumbled 2%.

Meanwhile, South Korea?s Kospi /quotes/zigman/1652118 KR:SEU -0.33% ?slipped 0.4%, while Australia?s S&P/ASX 200 /quotes/zigman/1653884 AU:XJO -0.09% ?rose 0.1% in choppy trade.

In Sydney, shares of Rio Tinto Ltd. /quotes/zigman/176317 AU:RIO -0.24% /quotes/zigman/182541/quotes/nls/rio RIO +0.58% ?rose 0.2% after the miner said it plans to sell its 80% stake in a copper-and-gold mine in Australia to China Molybdenum Co. /quotes/zigman/11762563 CN:603993 0.00% ?for $820 million.

However, shares of Evolution Mining Ltd. /quotes/zigman/7187583 AU:EVN -5.39% /quotes/zigman/7313817/quotes/nls/cahpf CAHPF +11.98% dropped 4.2% on the gold producer?s planed write-down on assets following a drop in the metal?s prices.

/quotes/zigman/5986735

JP : Nikkei Idx

Volume: 0.00

July 29, 2013 11:36a

/quotes/zigman/199438

JP : Japan: Tokyo

? 5,960.00

-190.00 -3.09%

Volume: 6.86M

July 29, 2013 11:30a

Market Cap

?21205.18 billion

Rev. per Employee

?66.16M

/quotes/zigman/199376/quotes/nls/tm

US : U.S.: NYSE

Volume: 616,729

July 26, 2013 4:06p

Market Cap

$216.09 billion

Rev. per Employee

$798,550

/quotes/zigman/193651

JP : Japan: Tokyo

? 3,690.00

-100.00 -2.64%

Volume: 2.72M

July 29, 2013 11:30a

Market Cap

?6865.31 billion

Rev. per Employee

?48.95M

/quotes/zigman/193599/quotes/nls/hmc

US : U.S.: NYSE

Volume: 402,912

July 26, 2013 4:02p

Rev. per Employee

$590,867

/quotes/zigman/197500

JP : Japan: Tokyo

? 2,059.00

-74.00 -3.47%

Volume: 6.39M

July 29, 2013 11:30a

Market Cap

?2158.55 billion

/quotes/zigman/197524/quotes/nls/sne

US : U.S.: NYSE

Volume: 1.73M

July 26, 2013 4:03p

/quotes/zigman/139194

JP : Japan: Tokyo

? 6,360.00

-160.00 -2.45%

Volume: 5.70M

July 29, 2013 11:30a

Market Cap

?7828.31 billion

Rev. per Employee

?137.34M

/quotes/zigman/139200/quotes/nls/sftbf

US : U.S.: OTCBB

Volume: 3,836

July 26, 2013 3:58p

/quotes/zigman/4868099/sampled

US : ICAP

Volume: 0.0000

July 28, 2013 11:46p

/quotes/zigman/4868097/sampled

US : ICAP

130.0000

-0.3325 -0.2551%

Volume: 0.0000

July 28, 2013 11:46p

/quotes/zigman/198925

JP : Japan: Tokyo

Volume: 24.13M

July 29, 2013 11:30a

Market Cap

?1962.01 billion

Rev. per Employee

?28.14M

/quotes/zigman/529244/quotes/nls/tosyy

US : U.S.: OTCBB

Volume: 1,614

July 26, 2013 3:30p

/quotes/zigman/140130

JP : Japan: Tokyo

? 3,430.00

-150.00 -4.19%

Volume: 2.12M

July 29, 2013 11:30a

Market Cap

?7160.00 billion

Rev. per Employee

?42.83M

/quotes/zigman/140138/quotes/nls/japaf

US : U.S.: OTCBB

Volume: 2,914

July 26, 2013 3:47p

/quotes/zigman/304502

JP : Japan: Tokyo

? 2,226.00

-137.00 -5.80%

Volume: 4.18M

July 29, 2013 11:30a

Market Cap

?1451.92 billion

Rev. per Employee

?57.82M

/quotes/zigman/304509/quotes/nls/jfeef

US : U.S.: OTCBB

Volume: 400.00

July 16, 2013 10:13a

/quotes/zigman/326601

JP : Japan: Tokyo

Volume: 661,000

July 29, 2013 11:30a

Market Cap

?172.69 billion

Rev. per Employee

?23.22M

/quotes/zigman/593649/quotes/nls/rnecy

US : U.S.: OTCBB

Volume: 157.00

July 9, 2013 3:07p

/quotes/zigman/192770

JP : Japan: Tokyo

? 15,160.00

+560.00 +3.84%

Volume: 1.36M

July 29, 2013 11:30a

Market Cap

?3496.82 billion

Rev. per Employee

?88.76M

/quotes/zigman/527618/quotes/nls/fanuy

US : U.S.: OTCBB

Volume: 454,175

July 26, 2013 3:58p

/quotes/zigman/139564

JP : Japan: Tokyo

? 5,160.00

+40.00 +0.78%

Volume: 975,700

July 29, 2013 11:30a

Market Cap

?4592.45 billion

Rev. per Employee

?180.96M

/quotes/zigman/527466/quotes/nls/kddiy

US : U.S.: OTCBB

Volume: 107,347

July 26, 2013 3:56p

/quotes/zigman/68270/quotes/nls/aapl

US : U.S.: Nasdaq

Volume: 7.07M

July 26, 2013 4:00p

Market Cap

$400.64 billion

/quotes/zigman/196701

JP : Japan: Tokyo

Volume: 28.00M

July 29, 2013 11:30a

Market Cap

?3004.53 billion

Rev. per Employee

?74.19M

/quotes/zigman/296367/quotes/nls/nmr

US : U.S.: NYSE

Volume: 972,129

July 26, 2013 4:03p

Rev. per Employee

$894,538

/quotes/zigman/1859015

CN : China: Shanghai

Volume: 42.86M

July 29, 2013 11:30a

/quotes/zigman/2622475

HK : HangSeng Ind

Volume: 0.00

July 29, 2013 11:31a

/quotes/zigman/34374

HK : Hong Kong

Volume: 10.67M

July 29, 2013 11:31a

Market Cap

HK$366.31 billion

Rev. per Employee

HK$3.55M

/quotes/zigman/527616/quotes/nls/bcmxy

US : U.S.: OTCBB

Volume: 200.00

Feb. 19, 2013 4:41p

/quotes/zigman/13931

HK : Hong Kong

Volume: 5.10M

July 29, 2013 11:26a

Market Cap

HK$180.61 billion

Rev. per Employee

HK$3.45M

/quotes/zigman/527919/quotes/nls/caovy

US : U.S.: OTCBB

Volume: 361.00

July 26, 2013 2:37p

/quotes/zigman/1875309

CN : China: Shanghai

Source: http://feeds.marketwatch.com/~r/marketwatch/financial/~3/j9hyZyTW9WQ/story.asp

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