Despite mixed earnings reports, the Tokyo equities markets were up Thursday. The Nikkei 225 added 0.8 percent to 17,519.50, while the Topix index gained 1 percent to 1,738.58.
The advances came even though scandal-ridden Nikko Cordial dropped a further 15.5 percent to ¥1,000 on investor concerns that it could be delisted in consequence of its accounting improprieties.
Electronics-related sectors were mixed. Consumer electronics manufacturers were higher. Sharp added 1.5 percent to ¥2,085 after it revealed that its operating profits were up 13 percent in the quarter. Sony was up 2 percent to ¥5,660 on an upgrade from “hold” to “buy” from Nikko Citigroup.
On the other hand, Tokyo Electron dropped 1.2 percent to ¥8,430 and Advantest was 2.8 percent lower to ¥5,870. These declines came after Fujitsu fell 5 percent to ¥860 on a disappointing quarterly report. It blamed its drop in profits on the price of microchips and hard drives, and said that it foresees further declines in the future.
Honda Motor was also lower on profits, as it reported that profits were below expectations and operating profits were steady in its fiscal third quarter. Honda’s 0.4 percent decline to ¥4,710 was an anomaly in an automobile manufacturing sector that added 0.4 percent on the session.