Tokyo stocks down 4.43% by noon

Tuesday, Aug 09, 2011 |By AFP

TOKYO - Tokyo shares plunged 4.43 per cent on Tuesday morning, a third straight day of heavy selling following massive losses on Wall Street.

The benchmark Nikkei-225 index of the Tokyo Stock Exchange lost 403.25 points to 8,694.31 by the lunch break, falling below the 9,000 mark for the first time since March 17, days after the quake-tsunami disaster.

The Topix index of all first-section issues tumbled 4.64 per cent or 36.34 points to 746.52.

Investors were increasingly nervous that the US economy may slide into another recession as the historic US credit downgrade by Standard & Poor's Friday sent shockwaves through markets already roiled by Europe's debt crisis.

Selling accelerated Tuesday following a plunge in South Korean shares and the release of Chinese data showing July inflation at a more-than three year high despite Beijing's efforts to rein in soaring food costs.

"We're starting to see a panic situation where investors are running for the exit to avoid further losses," Tsuyoshi Segawa, equity strategist at Mizuho Securities, told Dow Jones Newswires.

"The key (to stemming the global equity sell-off) is whether the US Fed will come out with measures, not only to increase liquidity, but to turn around economic conditions," said UBS Chief Strategist Shoji Hirakawa.

He cited the possibility the US Federal Reserve may decide on a third round of monetary easing as it holds a policy board meeting later Tuesday.

Shares in key markets such as the United States and Japan are "nearing their technical bottoms," he added.

Japan's Finance Minister Yoshihiko Noda said he was watching markets closely and staying in close contact with monetary authorities abroad.

He also denied a news report on Tuesday that he intends to resign soon and attempt to succeed unpopular Prime Minister Naoto Kan.

Tokyo Electric Power Company (TEPCO) fell 11.56 per cent to 344 yen after reports it would incur special losses of $6.5 billion for the April-June quarter as it faces huge compensation costs for the Fukushima nuclear disaster.

Oil companies plunged on sharp declines in crude prices, with Inpex down 9.79 per cent at 474,500 and JX Holdings off 7.52 per cent at 467 yen.

Financials also fell amid concerns over a global economic slowdown, with Nomura Holdings losing 7.05 per cent to 316 yen.

Stocks plunged around the world on Monday. On Wall Street the Dow Jones Industrial Average fell 5.55 per cent - its biggest one-day drop since late 2008 - while the broader S&P 500 fell 6.7 per cent and the tech-heavy Nasdaq dived 6.9 per cent.

In Europe Frankfurt was down more than 5.0 per cent, Paris lost 4.7 per cent and London dived nearly 3.4 per cent.

The euro bought $1.4174 in Asian midday trade on Tuesday, marginally down from $1.4179 in New York late Monday.

The dollar fell to 77.16 yen from 77.68 yen in New York.

Japan battles nuclear crisis, power effort crucial

Fri Mar 18, 2011 4:20pm GM

By Shinichi Saoshiro and Yoko Nishikawa

TOKYO, March 19 (Reuters) - Exhausted Japanese engineers scrambled to fix a power cable to two reactors at a tsunami-crippled nuclear power station on Saturday as they fought to prevent a deadly radiation release in the world's worst nuclear accident since the Chernobyl disaster.

The dangerous and complex challenge for about 300 workers at the Fukushima plant in northeastern Japan, 240 km (150 miles) north of Tokyo, has unsettled the world's financial markets and prompted an international reassessment of nuclear safety.

At the plant, from where people within 20 km (12 miles) have been evacuated to avoid radiation, engineers were hoping to attach power lines to two of the six reactors in order to
restart water pumps and cool overheated nuclear fuel rods.

Workers also sprayed water on the No.3 reactor, considered the most critical after steam was seen blowing off, a sign the rods could be becoming exposed.

If those tactics fail, the option of last resort may be to bury the sprawling 40-year-old plant in sand and concrete to prevent a catastrophic radiation release, the method used to seal huge leakages from Chernobyl after a huge blast there.

Japan has raised the severity rating of the nuclear crisis from Level 4 to Level 5 on the seven-level INES international scale, putting it on a par with America's Three Mile Island
accident in 1979, although some experts say it is more serious.

Chernobyl was a 7 on that scale.

The operation to avert a large-scale radiation leak has overshadowed the humanitarian aspect of Japan's toughest moment since World War Two, after it was struck last Friday by a 9.0-magnitude earthquake and a 10-metre (33-foot) tsunami.

Around 6,500 have been confirmed killed in the double natural disaster, which turned whole towns into waterlogged wastelands, and 10,300 remain missing with many feared dead.

Some 390,000 people, including many among Japan's ageing population, are homeless and battling near-freezing temperatures in makeshift shelters in northeastern coastal areas.

Food, water, medicine and heating fuel are in short supply.

"Everything is gone, including money," said Tsukasa Sato, a 74-year-old barber with a heart condition, as he warmed his hands in front of a stove at a shelter for the homeless in Yamada, northern Japan.

Under enormous pressure over its handling of the combination of crises, Japan's government conceded it could have moved faster at the outset.

"An unprecedented huge earthquake and huge tsunami hit Japan. As a result, things that had not been anticipated in terms of the general disaster response took place," Chief Cabinet Secretary Yukio Edano told reporters late on Friday.

Health officials and the U.N. atomic watchdog have said radiation levels in the capital Tokyo were not harmful, but the city has seen an exodus of tourists, expatriates and many
Japanese, who fear a blast of radioactive material.

"I'm leaving because my parents are terrified. I personally think this will turn out to be the biggest paper tiger the world has ever seen," said Luke Ridley, 23, from London as he sat at
Narita international airport using his laptop.

"I'll probably come back in about a month."

Amid their distress, Japanese were proud of the 300 or so nuclear plant workers toiling in the wreckage, wearing masks, goggles and protective suits sealed by duct tape.

"My eyes well with tears at the thought of the work they are doing," Kazuya Aoki, a safety official at Japan's Nuclear and Industrial Safety Agency, told Reuters.

Even if engineers restore power at the plant, the pumps may be too damaged to work.

The first step will be to restore power to pumps for reactors No. 1 and 2, and possibly 4, by Saturday, said Hidehiko Nishiyama, Japan's nuclear safety agency spokesman.

By Sunday, the government expects to connect electricity to pumps for its badly damaged reactor No.3 -- a focal point in the crisis because of its use of mixed oxides, or mox, containing
both uranium and highly toxic plutonium.

That could be a turning point.

"If they can get those electric pumps on and they can start pushing that water successfully up the core, quite slowly so you don't cause any brittle failure, they should be able to get it
under control in the next couple of days," said Laurence Williams, of Britain's University of Central Lancashire.

The last-resort option of burying the reactors could leave part of Japan off-limits for decades.

FINANCIAL INTERVENTION

The Group of Seven rich nations, attempting to calm global financial markets after a tumultuous week, agreed on Friday to join in a rare concerted intervention to restrain a soaring yen.

The U.S. dollar surged more than two yen to 81.80 after the G7's pledge to intervene, leaving behind a record low of 76.25 hit on Thursday.

Japan's Nikkei share index ended up 2.7 percent, recouping some of the week's stinging losses. It has lost 10.2 percent this week, wiping $350 billion off market capitalisation.

Expectations that Japanese insurers and companies would repatriate billions of dollars in overseas funds to pay for a reconstruction bill that is expected to be much costlier than the one that followed the Kobe earthquake in 1995 also have helped boost the yen.

The plight of those left homeless by the earthquake and tsunami worsened following a cold snap that brought heavy snow to worst-affected areas.

Nearly 320,000 households in the north were still without electricity, officials said, and the government said at least 1.6 million households lacked running water.

Aid groups say most victims are receiving attention, but there are pockets of acute suffering.

"We've seen children suffering with the cold, and lacking really basic items like food and clean water," said Stephen McDonald of Save the Children, in a statement on Friday.

(Additional reporting by Linda Sieg, Nathan Layne, Elaine Lies, Leika Kihara, Joseph Radford and Chris Gallagher in Japan; Fiona Ortiz in Madrid; Writing by Jason Szep and Andrew Cawthorne; Editing by Daniel Magnowski, sourced :Reuters)


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Japan's nuclear crisis

Wed Mar 16, 2011 1:23pm GMT

TOKYO, March 16 (Reuters) - Following are main developments after a massive earthquake and tsunami devastated northeast Japan and crippled a nuclear power station, raising the risk of uncontrolled radiation.
* Japan's nuclear agency says military will help pump water at the No.3 reactor at the quake-damaged Fukushima Daiichi nuclear power complex in northeastern Japan, and for the spent fuel pool in No.4 reactor.

* Agency also says radiation levels outside the plant spiked around noon but fell back.

- A helicopter was unable to drop water to cool the No.3 reactor, probably because of the high radiation, Kyodo news agency said, quoting the defence minister.

- Police will attempt to cool No.4 reactor's spent nuclear fuel pool using a water cannon, NHK TV says.

- Japan's top government spokesman says radiation levels around the complex are not at levels to cause an immediate health risk.

- Tokyo is safe for international travellers, the Japanese Red Cross says.

- There is no evidence of a significant spread of radiation from Japan's crippled nuclear plants, the World Health Organisation says.

- Operator says it is unable to resume work cooling the reactors due to radiation risk. Workers ordered to leave the plant were allowed back in after radiation levels fall. Operator says there were 180 workers on site as of 0230 GMT.

- Fire breaks out at reactor No.4 a day after a blast blew a hole in the building housing spent fuel rods. White smoke seen from No.3 reactor most likely to be steam from the water that is being poured to cool the rods.

- No plan yet to extend evacuation zone near the facility, 240 km (150 miles) north of Tokyo.

- Australia urges its citizens with non-essential roles to consider leaving Tokyo and the most damaged prefectures, and Turkey warns citizens against travelling to Japan. France urges nationals living in Tokyo to leave country or move south.

- Radiation levels in Tokyo were 10 times normal at one point, but not a threat to humsan health, officials said.

- Japan's benchmark Nikkei average closes 4.5 percent up on Wednesday after suffering its worst two-day rout since 1987. The index surged over 6 percent at one point.

- Tens of thousands of people are still missing since Friday's quake and tsunami. About 850,000 households in the north without electricity in near-freezing weather. Death toll is expected to exceed 10,000. (Tokyo bureau; Compiled by World Desk Asia, Reuters)

Nikkei tumbles 10.55% as nuke crisis spurs panic selling

Mar15, 2011 18:13:33

TOKYO, March 15 (Xinhua) -- Tokyo stocks booked their largest one-day fall Tuesday since the collapse of Lehman Brothers Holdings Inc., with the key Nikkei stock index plunging 10.55 percent as Japan's growing nuclear crisis spurred panic selling.

A heightened state of fear rattled the markets Tuesday after Japanese Prime Minister Naoto Kan said that following a hydrogen explosion at an earthquake-stricken nuclear power plant in Fukushima Prefecture, there was a high risk of radiation leaking into the atmosphere.

Four of the complex's six reactors have been damaged by explosions and Kan urged citizens living within a 30-kilometer radius of the plant to stay indoors and keep windows and doors shut.

Following news that radiation levels had been detected in the Tokyo region following the reactor's containment unit being damaged, brokers said that was all the news needed for panicked investors to hit the sell button and take flight from risky assets.

"It's panic selling. It's not only foreign investors -- everybody just wants to dump shares," said one local analyst.

"Panic selling started with concerns about the safety of the nuclear power plant and now stock markets around the world are being affected by Japan's nuclear crisis," added a Tokyo-based portfolio manager.

The 225-issue Nikkei Stock Average fell 1,015.34 points to close at 8,605.15, marking the first time the index has ended more than 1,000 points lower since Oct. 16, 2008, when the Lehman shock pummeled global markets.

Tuesday's close marked the third worst one-day plunge in the Nikkei's history and the market's massive losses follow a 6.18 percent drop logged Monday. The index has fallen nearly 17 percent in just two days.

The broader Topix index of all First Section issues on the Tokyo Stock Exchange lost 80.23 points, or 9.47 percent, to close at 766.73.

"Even if the nuclear power plant woes calm down, if the power outage by Tokyo Electric Power lasts for a half year or longer, its impact on the Japanese economy is unimaginable," said Fumiyuki Nakanishi, general manager at SMBC Friend Securities Co.

The power outages have severely disrupted transportation systems in the Kanto region and many businesses in the greater Tokyo region have suspended work and sent employees home and some, based on the nuclear crisis, are sending their workers out of Tokyo and even to foreign offices.

Stocks related to nuclear power were dumped Tuesday, with Tokyo Electric Power Co. operator of the stricken plants in Fukushima prefecture falling by the daily allowable limit of 24.7 percent to 1,221 yen, a level not seen since November 1984.

Toshiba Corp., which delivered nuclear plant facilities at the troubled plant, plunged 19.5 percent to 331 yen, also falling by the daily limit and Hitachi Ltd., which provides nuclear power generation systems, dropped 13 percent.

Mitsubishi Heavy Industries Ltd., a developer of nuclear power plants, meanwhile tumbled 11 percent.

A broad range of issues fell with Sony losing 8.9 percent to 2, 324 yen due to the firm halting some of its operations and Mitsubishi Estate fell 12 percent to 1,335 yen on fears a lengthy power outage will hamper industrial activity.

Mizuho Financial Group was another notable 10-digit decliner, falling 10 percent to close at 130 yen.

Japan's central bank on Tuesday pumped 8 trillion yen (98 billion U.S. dollars) into currency markets today, in addition to yesterday's massive cash injection, in a bid to secure the nation' s financial liquidity.

Trading volume on Tuesday jumped to 5.77 billion shares on the Tokyo Exchange's First Section, up from Monday's volume of 4.88 billion shares, with declining stocks outnumbering advancing ones by 1,637 to 34.

Unconfirmed reports of USD 110 hike for coking coal for April quarter

Friday, 11 Mar 2011

Nikkei business daily yesterday reported that Japan’s No 4 steelmaker Nippon Steel and British mining giant Anglo American Plc have agreed to increase coking coal prices for the second quarter by around 50% from the current quarter,

The Nikkei, without citing sources, said the coking coal price would be raised to a record USD 330 for the April to June period. Nikkei said that the steelmakers are worried that monthly price revisions would lead to cost volatility and this has led to the agreement with Anglo American which offered to set prices quarterly.

Steel makers across all parts of globe, citing surge in costs of iron ore and coking coal, have hiked steel prices in last 3 months. Now the big question is that weather the hikes are sustainable ie to what extant steel makers would be able to post the higher costs to buyers and what would be the steel price scenario in April to June quarter.

While the miners remain upbeat on prices of iron ore and coking coal in April to June quarter, several factors are weighing heavily on steel prices. Chinese premier has recently emphasized that the government will take all measures to cool down economy. This is being reflected in Chinese domestic prices, which have been sliding every day since February 22nd 2011. Political unrest in Middle East and North Africa has compounded the problem as many of the captive export markets for Black Sea based and Turkish mills have suddenly vanished creating a vacuum, forcing them to find alternate destinations.

Nippon,Anglo agree 50 pct coal hike-Nikkei

Thu Mar 10, 2011 8:27am GMT

* Price rise in line with estimates - analyst
* Talks with BHP continuing - Nikkei
* Steelmakers seeking 25 pct steel price hike after April

March 10 (Reuters) - Nippon Steel Corp , the world's No. 4 steelmaker, and mining giant Anglo American Plc have agreed to a 50 percent jump in coking coal prices for the April-June quarter, the Nikkei business daily said, which is roughly in line with market estimates.

"This is not a big surprise as it is roughly in line with steelmaker and market expectations," said Kazuhiro Harada, an analyst at Nikko Cordial said.

"There is no need to change our earnings assumptions."

Nippon Steel declined to comment on the report.

The company expects surges in coal and iron ore prices to result in a 15,000 yen ($182) per tonne rise in the cost of raw materials after April. That would add around 20 percent to its average product price of 81,000 yen per tonne in the Jan-March quarter.

The company said it was seeking a 25 percent price hike from domestic steel users, like Toyota Motor Corp , aiming to fully pass on sharply higher costs from the October-March period.

The Nikkei, without citing sources, said on Thursday the coking coal price would be raised to a record $330 per tonne for the April-June period, up from $220 in the current quarter, due to growing demand in emerging countries and supply disruptions in Australia after disastrous rains battered its mines and infrastructure.

Nippon Steel and other major steelmakers are still in talks with BHP Billiton , the world's biggest diversified miner, which wants to set prices monthly instead of quarterly, the Nikkei said.

Steelmakers are worried that monthly price revisions would lead to cost volatility. The agreement with Anglo American is for quarterly prices, the Nikkei said.

The price of iron ore, another major input, is also expected to climb to a record high of around $170 a tonne in the April-June quarter, up 20 percent.

But the price of iron ore could peak in the July-September quarter as slower demand for steel in China amid monetary tightening and ballooned inventories has weighed on raw material prices.
($1 = 82.755 Japanese Yen) (Reporting by Yuko Inoue; Editing by Joseph Radford, sourced Reuters)

Tags : steel mills, raw material, BHP Billiton, Rio Tinto

Kobe Steel to set up its own port in Vietnam-Nikkei

Saturday, Jan 29, 2011
TOKYO Jan 29, 2011 - Kobe Steel , Japan's fourth-biggest steelmaker, will invest up to $365 million to set up a port facility in Vietnam to be used exclusively by the company, the business daily Nikkei reported on Saturday.

Kobe Steel will invest about 20-30 billion yen ($244-$365 million) until 2013 to build cranes and other infrastructure at the port in the country, the paper said.
The steelmaker decided to set up its own port as it thought it would be more cost efficient than using an existing port and sharing with others as it had originally planned, the Nikkei said.
The Japanese steelmaker has said it plans to build a $1 billion iron-making plant in Vietnam, capable of producing 2.4 million tonnes per year of iron nugget from low-grade iron.
The plant will be built in the northern province of Nghe An this year and begin production in early 2013.

The material from the plant will be sold in Vietnam, as well as to be exported to Japan and other Asian countries, the newspaper said. ($1=82.10 Yen) (Reporting by Chikafumi Hodo; reuters)

Nippon, Toyota may OK 1 pct steel price hike - Nikkei

Jan 22, 2011 (Reuters) - The world's fourth-biggest steelmaker, Nippon Steel Corp (5401.T: Quote), and Toyota Motor Corp (7203.T: Quote) are likely to agree on an around 1 percent increase in steel prices for the second half of fiscal 2010, the Nikkei reported, citing sources close to the negotiations.
The figure is much smaller than the roughly 25 percent jump for the first half of the year, the business daily said.
After falling earlier in the October-March period, iron ore and coking coal prices are on the rise again and steelmakers have thus sought to pass the higher costs to carmakers and other major customers, the paper said.
Faced with deteriorating margins on vehicle exports, Toyota demanded a price cut, arguing that steelmakers costs for importing raw materials are declining due to a stronger yen, the Nikkei said. (Reporting by Saqib Iqbal Ahmed in Bangalore)