Japan’s Topix index rose for five consecutive days, as shipping lines gained along with higher cargo tariffs and after some companies reported higher profits.
Nippon Yusen K.K., Japan’s largest shipping line by sales, climbed 2.2 percent after a measure of bulk cargo tariffs jumped. Sumitomo Osaka Cement Co., a maker of the building material, surged 6.8 percent after the company reported a nine-month profit. Takata Corp., which makes automobile safety equipment, jumped 6.3 percent after it said earnings more than tripled.
The Topix index rose 0.3 percent to 946.63 with about three stocks advancing for every two that fell at the 3 p.m. close in Tokyo. The Nikkei 225 Stock Average slid 0.1 percent to 10,606.65. For the week, the Nikkei has increased 0.6 percent, while the Topix is up 1.2 percent. Japan’s market will be closed tomorrow for a holiday.
Nippon Yusen rose 2.2 percent to 373 yen. Mitsui O.S.K. Lines Ltd., the second-largest shipping line by sales, climbed 2.2 percent to 558 yen. Kawasaki Kisen Kaisha Ltd., the No. 3, increased 3.8 percent to 360 yen. The industry group that includes the companies gained the most among the 33 groups in the Topix.
European stocks declined for a third day, the longest stretch of losses since November, amid growing concern that accelerating global inflation will lead to higher borrowing costs.
Air France-KLM Group tumbled 7.7 percent after reporting an unexpected loss. Credit Suisse Group AG and Danske Bank A/S sank more than 5 percent as earnings missed analysts’ estimates. Deutsche Boerse AG climbed 4.6 percent after the operator of the Frankfurt exchange said it’s in talks to buy NYSE Euronext.
The benchmark Stoxx Europe 600 Index fell 0.2 percent to 286.78 at the 4:30 p.m. close in London. The gauge reached the highest level since September 2008 earlier this week amid optimism that the economic recovery is accelerating and policies to support indebted countries using the euro will succeed. The rally had pushed the measure to about 16 times the reported earnings of its companies, near the highest level in nine months, according to data compiled by Bloomberg.
Most U.S. stocks rose, erasing an earlier slump, as Egyptian President Hosni Mubarak’s plan to delegate authority to his vice president spurred optimism the nation’s political crisis will not threaten the global economy.
Whole Foods Market Inc. surged 12 percent as the natural- goods grocer raised its annual forecasts. Goodyear Tire & Rubber Co. rose 14 percent as the biggest U.S. tiremaker reported earnings that beat analysts’ estimates. Cisco Systems Inc. and Akamai Technologies Inc. slumped at least 14 percent after reporting forecasts that trailed analysts’ estimates.
About 10 stocks rose for every nine that fell on U.S. exchanges. The Standard & Poor’s 500 Index advanced 0.1 percent to 1,321.87 at 4 p.m. in New York, reversing an earlier slide of as much as 0.7 percent. The Dow Jones Industrial Average slipped 10.60 points, or 0.1 percent, to 12,229.29, erasing most of an earlier 83-point slump, and still snapping an eight-day rally.
The S&P 500 has risen as much as 96 percent from its 12- year low in 2009 as better-than-forecast economic data and company earnings boosted confidence in the economic recovery. About 74 percent of the 339 companies in the S&P 500 that reported results since Jan. 10 have topped analysts’ per-share profit predictions, according to data compiled by Bloomberg.
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