Sony Corp., a consumer electronics company that gets 21 percent of its revenue in Europe, dropped 2.7 percent. Japan Material Co., a producer of chip-making equipment, slid on its first trading day. Sumitomo Osaka Cement Co. tumbled 8.1 percent after the company said it overstated inventory.
The Nikkei 225 Stock Average dropped 0.8 percent to 8,332.58 as of 10:17 a.m. in Tokyo after falling 1.6 percent last week. The broader Topix index lost 0.8 percent to 717.97 with all but two of the 33 industry groups on the gauge sliding. About three stocks fell for each that rose on the Topix.
“Europe's situation continues to be tough,” said Kenichi Hirano, general manager and strategist at Tachibana Securities Co. in Tokyo. “We are likely to see more downgrades for government debt and banks. Stocks will take a hit every time that happens.”
Futures on the Standard & Poor's 500 Index fell 0.2 percent today. The index rose 0.3 percent in New York on Dec. 16 even after Fitch Ratings put credit ratings for France, Belgium, Spain, Slovenia, Italy, Ireland and Cyprus under review for a downgrade, saying a “comprehensive” solution to Europe's crisis is “technically and politically beyond reach.”
Financial Heads Meet
Finance ministers in the euro region will hold a conference call at 3:30 p.m. Brussels time today to meet a self-imposed deadline to channel additional bailout funds and put together new budget rules to stem the debt crisis and buoy investor confidence.
“Time is running out for policy makers to execute what they decided to do,” said Yoshinori Nagano, a senior strategist in Tokyo at Daiwa Asset Management Co., which oversees about $120 billion. “It's not that something big will happen and change the whole market sentiment. It rather depends on the accumulation of small steps.”
Exporters fell with consumer electronics makers contributing the most to the Topix index's decline. Sony dropped 2.7 percent to 1,324 yen. Panasonic Corp. fell 3.5 percent to 659 yen, and Nintendo Co., a video-game company that gets 34 percent of its sales in Europe, slid 2.5 percent to 10,660 yen.
Japan Material debuted at 2,471 yen, down from its initial offering price of 2,650 yen. The firm started trading on the Tokyo Stock Exchange and the Nagoya Stock Exchange today.
Sumitomo Osaka Cement tumbled 8.1 percent to 215 yen, headed for the biggest drop since September 2009. The company said it overstated inventory by 1.4 billion yen and is investigating.
Tokyo Electric Power Co. rose 1.3 percent to 232 yen after the government said the utility finished a cold shutdown of the Fukushima nuclear reactors crippled by the March earthquake and tsunami. For the latest updates on the stock market, visit Stock Market Today For the latest updates PRESS CTR + D or visit Stock Market news Today
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