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Japanese stocks lose ground as higher yen weighs
Sunday, May 08, 2011 7:20 PM



LOS ANGELES (MarketWatch) -- Japanese stocks saw their opening gains evaporate within minutes of the open, as auto shares fell on concerns about a higher yen and possible power shortages in Japan offsetting a boost from Friday's strong U.S. jobs data and gains on Wall Street. The Nikkei Stock Average slipped by 0.2% to 9,841.41, while the Topix was down 0.2% at 855.19. With Japanese Prime Minister Naoto Kan calling for the closure of a nuclear plant over safety concerns and with the dollar trading below the 81-yen level, auto-maker stocks gave ground, with Nissan Motor Co. down 1.2%, and Toyota Motor Corp. lower by 0.6%, with both companies set to report earnings later in the week. Some tech-exporter shares advanced, however, with Elpida Memory Inc. rising 1.4%, and Sony Corp. gaining 1.6% despite news of a delay to the reopening of its online-gaming network following major security breaches.

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