ASIA MARKETS: Japan Stocks Stumble Again, With Earnings On Deck

By V. Phani Kumar, MarketWatch

HONG KONG (MarketWatch) -- Japanese stocks skidded Monday, with steel makers and technology firms among the notable decliners as a firm yen further dragged on the nation's exporters.

The Nikkei Stock Average fell 1.9% to 13,855.41, dropping below the 14,000-point level and looking set for a fourth straight day of losses. The benchmark had retreated 3% on Friday.

The day's losses came ahead of a speech by Bank of Japan Gov. Haruhiko Kuroda slated for later in the day, with investors also looking ahead to a busy week of earnings.

"Net income is expected to surge as much at 75% for multinationals and 33% for domestic-facing firms, ... with Abenomics sending the yen into a 20% deflation spiral over the last 12 months," said IG Markets strategist Evan Lucas.

The U.S. dollar (USDJPY) has risen nearly 25% against the yen, and the euro (EURJPY) by more than 34% over the last 12 months, boosting Japanese exporters' global competitiveness and their repatriated profits.

Toyota Motor Corp. (TM), Honda Motor Co. (HMC), Sony Corp. (SNE) and Softbank Corp. (9984.TO) are among the major Japanese firms due to announce their results this week.

On Monday, however, concerns over the U.S. dollar's recent fall against the yen weighed on shares of companies with a large overseas exposure.

Shares of JFE Holdings Inc. (5411.TO) slumped 6%, Toshiba Corp. (TOSYY) gave up 5%, and Japan Tobacco Inc. (JAPAF) lost 3.8%.

Renesas Electronics Corp. (RNECY) slid 4.4% after the Nikkei newspaper reported on Friday the company had firmed plans to shut down a chip foundry in Japan's Yamagata prefecture.

On the upside, shares of Fanuc Corp. (FANUY) jumped 3.7% to rank among the few gainers, after the industrial automation firm reported better-than-forecast fiscal first-quarter results.

Shares of Telecommunications firm KDDI Corp. (9433.TO) rose 2.2%, after the Nikkei newspaper reported was expected to post a record-high operating profit, helped in part by gains for Apple Inc. (AAPL) iPhone subscribers.

But Nomura Holdings Inc. (NMR) slid 2.9% in the downbeat market, even as the broker reported a sharp surge in quarterly profits from the year-ago period.

Meanwhile, official data released before the stock market's open showed Japan's retail sales climbed 1.6% in June from the year-ago month, though just short of forecasts.

Elsewhere in the region, South Korea's Kospi traded flat, while Australia's S&P/ASX 200 rose 0.3%.

In Sydney, shares of miner Rio Tinto Ltd. (RIO) rose 0.7% after the company said it plans to sell its 80% stake in a copper-and-gold mine in Australia to China Molybdenum Co. for $820 million.

However, shares of Evolution Mining Ltd. (CAHPF) dropped 3% on the gold producer's planed write-down on assets following a drop in the metal's prices.

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