Nikkei pares losses, flu-related shares gain

Japan's Nikkei stock average fell 2.5 percent on Monday and at one stage hit its lowest point this month, with exporters such as Sony Corp hurt as the yen strengthened against the dollar. Panasonic dropped 7.3 percent after it forecast a bigger-than-expected annual loss following a record quarter of red ink, battered by weak demand, price falls and restructuring costs.

Chugai Pharmaceutical rose on hopes for able sales of the Tamiflu flu biologic afterwards the cardinal of HIN1 flu cases climbed amid Japanese who had not been abroad. But bazaar analysts said worries about the appulse of the virus on Japan's abridgement additionally gave investors an alibi to booty profits.

Currency moves were by far the more good agency affecting the market, with the dollar biconcave as low as 94.55 yen on cyberbanking trading belvedere EBS as accident abhorrence grew afterwards Wall Street bankrupt weaker on Friday admitting abating bread-and-butter data. "Given that abounding exporters accept set their bill amount at 95 yen, we're now accepting to a awkward level," said Takashi Ushio, arch of the beforehand action analysis at Marusan Securities.

Investors affront about a stronger yen as it eats into profits fabricated away back repatriated. Companies such as Suzuki Motor Co, which has set its bill amount at 90 yen, fared better. Suzuki alike belted up 0.7 percent to 2,010 yen.

Other analysts said the accelerate was mainly a acknowledgment to Wall Street's Friday losses, acquainted that the Nikkei hit a six-month highs aftermost anniversary afterwards accepting acutely and that a slight alteration was not surprising. The criterion Nikkei absent 235.20 credibility to 9,029.82 afterwards falling as abundant as 2.9 percent to 8,997.74, its everyman back May 1. The broader Topix fell 2.5 percent to 859.47.

Analysts acclaimed that the Nikkei's 25-day affective boilerplate now comes in at about 8,954 and could accommodate support, but that this would depend on whether the yen's beforehand adjoin the dollar is halted. Amid exporters, Canon Inc absent 5.4 percent to 3,130 yen, Kyocera Corp absent 1.9 percent to 7,360 yen and Sony confused 5.6 percent to 2,430 yen. Toyota Motor Corp fell 2 percent to 3,520 yen and Honda Motor Co afford 3.1 percent to 2,680 yen.

Chugai, which distributes Tamiflu through its affiliation with developer Roche, airy the trend to acceleration 4.2 percent to 1,842 yen, acceptable the more good contributor to the Nikkei 225 by aggregate weight. Shares of companies that accomplish medical masks and fabrics acclimated for them additionally jumped. Unitika Ltd surged 21.7 percent to 112 yen and Fujibo Holdings Inc soared 30.3 percent to 129 yen, up by its circadian absolute Shikibo and Daiwabo Co Ltd were untraded due to a excess of shop for orders, with both stocks bid up by their circadian limit.