Japanese, Australian Stock Futures Advance on Earnings Reports, Weaker Yen
Japanese stock futures rose as companies from Canon Inc. to Fanuc Ltd. reported higher profits and the yen weakened. Australian futures also climbed.
American depositary receipts of Canon, the world’s largest camera maker, surged 3.3 percent from the closing share price in Tokyo. Those of Sony Corp., a Japanese electronics maker that gets about 70 percent of sales abroad, jumped 2.8 percent as the yen weakened and after JPMorgan Chase & Co. increased its investment recommendation. ADRs of Woodside Petroleum Ltd., Australia’s second-largest oil and gas producer, fell 0.6 percent after oil prices dropped.
Futures on Japan’s Nikkei 225 Stock Average expiring in September closed at 9,635 in Chicago yesterday, compared with 9,515 in Singapore. They were bid in the pre-market at 9,610 in Osaka, Japan, at 8:05 a.m. local time. Futures on Australia’s S&P/ASX 200 Index gained 0.4 percent today. New Zealand’s NZX 50 Index advanced 0.4 percent in Wellington.
“Overall, corporate earnings are improving and expectations for strong earnings will likely increase,” said Hiroichi Nishi, an equities manager in Tokyo at Nikko Cordial Securities Inc.
Futures on the Standard & Poor’s 500 Index dropped 0.1 percent. In New York yesterday, the index slipped 0.1 percent as retailers such as Amazon.com Inc. and Lowe’s Cos. Inc. slid after consumer confidence retreated to a five-month low.
U.S. Consumer Confidence
The Conference Board’s index of confidence among U.S. consumers fell to 50.4 in July from a revised 54.3 in June. The gauge was forecast to drop to 51, according the median estimatein a Bloomberg News survey.
The MSCI Asia Pacific Index has declined 2 percent in 2010, compared with a 0.1 percent drop by the S&P 500 and a 1.7 percent gain by the Stoxx Europe 600 Index. Stocks in the Asian benchmark are valued at 14.2 times estimated earnings, compared with 13.5 times for the S&P and 12 times for the Stoxx.
Canon said yesterday after the close of trading in Tokyo that its net income more than quadrupled to 67.6 billion yen ($779 million) in the three months ended June 30 from a year earlier. That exceeded the median estimate of 58 billion yen, based on three analyst estimates compiled by Bloomberg News. The company left its full-year forecast unchanged.
The result was a “positive surprise,” Masahiro Shibano, an analyst at Citigroup Global Markets Japan Inc., said in a Japanese-language report. “It’s good news that the company maintained its profit forecast because there were strong concerns that Canon may cut its outlook against the backdrop of steep declines in the euro.”
Yen Boost
Fanuc, a Japanese maker of industrial robots, reported net income of 24.8 billion yen for the three months ended June 30, up from 4.95 billion yen a year earlier. Sales more than doubled to 99.7 billion yen from 45.7 billion yen.
The yen depreciated to as low as 87.98 against the dollarcompared with 86.98 at the close of stock trading in Tokyo yesterday. Against the euro, it weakened to 114.42 from 113.17. A weaker yen boosts the value of overseas income at Japanese companies when converted into their home currency.
Crude oil for September delivery tumbled 1.9 percent to $77.50 a barrel in New York yesterday, the biggest decline since July 1. The London Metal Exchange Index of six metals including copper and zinc lost 1.1 percent yesterday.
To contact the reporters for this story: Akiko Ikeda in Tokyo at iakiko@bloomberg.net; Toshiro Hasegawa in Tokyo at thasegawa6@bloomberg.net.
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