By Michael Kitchen
LOS ANGELES (MarketWatch) -- Japanese stocks edged lower Friday morning, with disappointing earnings results hitting some shares, though a weaker yen helped some others. In early trading, the benchmark Nikkei Stock Average (JP:NI225 10,360, -118.32, -1.13%) slipped 0.1% to 10,463.8, while the broader Topix lost 0.2% to 927.48. Shares of Canon Inc. (JP:7751 4,065, -130.00, -3.10%) (CAJ 50.85, +0.78, +1.56%) and NEC Corp. (JP:6701 235.00, -11.00, -4.47%) (NIPNF 2.85, +0.30, +11.76%) lost 2.4% each, as both companies posted earnings late Thursday that disappointed the market. A Standard & Poor's downgrade Thursday to Japanese sovereign debt sent the dollar to above the 83-yen level. The weaker yen helped Sony Corp. (JP:6758 2,908, -6.00, -0.21%) (SNE 35.37, +0.44, +1.26%) rise 1.5%, and boosted Elpida Memory Inc. (JP:6665 1,225, +35.00, +2.94%) (ELPDF 13.65, +0.40, +3.02%) by 3.1%, also getting support from Microsoft Inc. (MSFT 28.87, +0.09, +0.31%) in the U.S. reporting strong revenue. |
