Nov. 15 (Bloomberg) -- Japan's Nikkei 225 Stock Average dropped. Exporters including Honda Motor Co. fell after reports from the U.S. suggested consumer spending is slowing in Japan's largest overseas market.

Honda, Japan's No. 2 automaker, snapped a two-day advance after the Commerce Department said U.S. department store sales fell last month and Macy's Inc. slashed its earnings forecast.

Advantest Corp. led semiconductor-related shares lower after Applied Materials Inc., the largest maker of chip- production machines, said profit slid 6.1 percent last quarter.

``Consumption will probably become weaker and weaker in the U.S., so I'm not bullish for the economy and the stock market,'' said Soichiro Monji, who helps oversee $47 billion at Daiwa SB Investments Ltd. in Tokyo.

The Nikkei 225 slid 103.26, or 0.7 percent, to 15,396.30 at the close of trading in Tokyo, its ninth decline in the last 10 days. The broader Topix added 1.15, or 0.1 percent, to 1,498.86. About three shares rose for every two that fell among the 1,718 Topix members.

Commodity-related shares including Mitsui & Co. advanced, leading gains in the Topix, after the price of oil had its biggest gain in two weeks and copper rose the most in 16 months. Daikin Industries Ltd. climbed after Japan's biggest maker of air conditioners said first-half profit doubled.

U.S. Spending

Honda slid 50 yen, or 1.3 percent, to 3,830. Nintendo Co., Japan's second-largest video-game maker, fell 700 yen, or 1.1 percent. to 63,300 in Osaka. Sharp Corp., Japan's largest maker of liquid-crystal display televisions, slumped 52 yen, or 2.8 percent, to 1,778.

U.S. department store sales fell 0.5 percent in October, the Commerce Department said yesterday. Additionally, Macy's Inc. tumbled the most in five years after saying same-store sales may drop in the fourth quarter and revenue will grow less than expected. The reports damped confidence sparked by Wal-Mart Stores Inc.'s earnings the previous day that exceeded analyst estimates. The U.S. is Japan's largest export market.

Advantest, the world's biggest maker of equipment used to test computer memory chips, slid 140 yen, or 4.6 percent, to 2,930, the lowest since July 2003. Tokyo Electron Ltd., the second-biggest maker of machines used to make semiconductors, fell 210 yen, or 3.4 percent, to 6,040.

Applied Materials said yesterday a computer-memory chip slump will reduce orders until the first half of next year. The company's shares fell 4.3 percent to $18 in extended trading.

Oil, Copper Rally

Mitsui & Co., whose profits are the most sensitive among Japan's trading houses to changes in the price of oil, rose 55 yen, or 2.2 percent, to 2,605. Mitsubishi Corp., which generates the second-biggest proportion of its sales from selling crude and industrial fuel, added 30 yen, or 0.9 percent, to 3,240. Japan Petroleum Exploration Co., the country's No. 2 oil explorer, gained 130 yen, or 1.6 percent, to 8,530.

Crude oil for December delivery jumped 3.2 percent to $94.09 a barrel in New York, the biggest gain since Oct. 31. Copper futures surged 6.1 percent, the steepest rally since July 2006.

Daikin advanced 90 yen, or 1.6 percent, to 5,790. The company said yesterday profit in the six months to Sept. 30 more than doubled to 49.1 billion yen ($442 million). That was more than the 39 billion yen the company had estimated. Daikin also lifted its full-year forecast by 60 percent.

Elsewhere, Hakuhodo DY Holdings Inc. gained 150 yen, or 2.1 percent, to 7,150. The advertising company said yesterday first- half profit more than doubled, prompting Credit Suisse Group to raise its recommendation on the shares to ``outperform'' from ``neutral.''

TDK, T&D

Yesterday 11 percent of the 1,809 companies listed on the Tokyo Stock Exchange with a financial year ending in March reported half-year earnings, the busiest announcement day of the season.

TDK Corp., Japan's largest maker of magnetic heads for hard disk drives, tumbled 490 yen, or 6.1 percent, to 7,530, the lowest since Oct. 2005. Fumihide Goto, an analyst at UBS AG in Tokyo, cut his rating on the shares to ``sell'' from ``neutral,'' on the view that the electric components market may be peaking out.

T&D Holdings Inc., the nation's only publicly traded life insurer, jumped 330 yen, or 5.3 percent, to 6,580 after Goldman, Sachs & Co. rated the shares ``buy'' in new coverage.

Nikkei futures expiring in December dropped 0.9 percent to 15,390 in Osaka and slid 0.8 percent to 15,385 in Singapore.

Advantest Corp. (6857 JT)
Daikin Industries Ltd. (6367 JT)
Hakuhodo DY Holdings Inc. (2433 JT)
Honda Motor Co. (7267 JT)
Japan Petroleum Exploration Co. (1662 JT)
Mitsubishi Corp. (8058 JT)
Mitsui & Co. (8031 JT)
Nintendo Co. (7974 JO)
Sharp Corp. (6753 JT)
T&D Holdings Inc. (8795 JT)
TDK Corp. (6762 JT)
Tokyo Electron Ltd. (8035 JT)

To contact the reporter for this story: Patrick Rial in Tokyo at prial@bloomberg.net.

Last Updated: November 15, 2007 02:05 EST