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Japan Hot Stocks-Promise, Nippon Info, Ox, Tobu Store, Sony

TOKYO, Jan 29 (Reuters) - The following stocks are on the move on Wednesday. **PROMISE DOWN AFTER DEUTSCHE CUTS RATING TO HOLD**

Promise Co down 4.19 percent at 3,890 yen after Deutsche Securities said it had cut its rating on Japan's third-ranked consumer finance firm to "hold" from "buy" and lowered its target price on the stock to 4,400 yen from 6,800 yen.

Deutsche analyst Masamitsu Ohki cited sliding customer numbers and a drop in asset quality. Ohki said that credit costs would likely exceed Promise's estimates for 2002/03. 0434 GMT **NIPPON INFO 12 PCT ABOVE IPO PRICE IN MARKET DEBUT**

Nippon Information Development Co Ltd, a developer of telecommunications and computer systems, last traded at 4,710 yen, 12.2 percent above its initial public offering (IPO) price of 4,200 in its debut on the Jasdaq market for start-up firms.

Nippon Information, Japan's second IPO in 2003, first changed hands at 4,900 yen and rose as high as 5,100 yen.

Ox Information Co Ltd , a developer of software designed to detect possible corporate bankruptcies, was up 16.67 percent at 350,000 yen after ending 58 percent above its IPO price on Tuesday in Japan's first IPO this year. 0345 GMT **TOBU STORE UP ON REPORT MARUBENI TO TAKE STAKE**

Tobu Store Co Ltd up 2.09 percent at 195 yen after the Asahi Shimbun newspaper reported that trading house Marubeni Corp and affiliate Maruetsu Inc will take a 17.5 percent stake in Tobu during the current business year.

An official announcement would be made this afternoon, the paper said. 0200 GMT

**SONY HITS 15-MONTH LOW AHEAD OF Q3 EARNINGS** Consumer electronics giant Sony Corp down 1.44 percent at 4,780 after marking a 15-month intraday low of 4,750 ahead of its earnings report for the third quarter at 0600 GMT.

Sony is expected to show higher profits for the quarter thanks to hit games and movies, but uncertainty over the global economy have weighed on the dollar and Sony's stock price.

Moreover, some traders said Sony's stock was also being hurt by sporadic selling by banks and insurers that are rushing to offload shares ahead of book-closings in March. 0200 GMT

**FUJITSU EXPANDS LOSSES ON HEAVY FOREIGN SELLING**

Fujitsu Ltd down 7.0 percent at 332 yen after hitting a two-week intraday low of 330 yen some 10 minutes before the end of the morning session on heavy foreign selling, traders said.

Big selling was seen through Goldman Sachs, Ark Securities, UBS Warburg, Morgan Stanley, JP Morgan and Merrill Lynch.

During late afternoon trade on Tuesday, Japan's top computer maker posted a smaller net loss for the quarter to December versus a year earlier, but said sales slumped 3.9 percent in the quarter and trimmed its full-year revenue outlook.

"The market seems to be most upset with the company's sales slump and is unconvinced that Fujitsu can hit its profit targets for the full year," said Koichi Kawata, deputy head of the equity department at Sakura Friend Securities.

Deutsche Securities said on Wednesday that it has maintained its "sell" rating on Fujitsu's stock. The brokerage also lowered its target price to 300 yen from 410 yen. 0200 GMT **HONDA DOWN AFTER NSSB CUTS RATING TO UNDERPERFORM**

Honda Motor Co Ltd down 1.22 percent at 4,060 yen after Nikko Salomon Smith Barney (NSSB) cut its rating on Japan's number-two ranked automaker to "underperform/high risk" from "in-line/high risk" and lowered its target price to 4,200 yen from 5,800 yen.

In a note to clients, NSSB analyst Noriyuki Matsushima said he was increasingly concerned about a slowdown in near-term growth, including a potential deterioration in domestic earnings.

Honda, Japan's second-largest automaker is set to unveil earnings for October-December on Friday at 0600 GMT. 0200 GMT

**SEIYU DIVES AFTER UBSW CUTS RATING TO REDUCE**

Seiyu Ltd down 5.49 percent at 344 yen after UBS Warburg said on Wednesday that it had cut its investment rating on the supermarket chain to "Reduce 1" from "Neutral 2", while lowering its target price on the stock to 200 yen from 280 yen.

In a note to clients, UBS Warburg analyst Masahiro Matsuoka said he expects Seiyu to miss its targets for the current year to February due in part to very weak same-store sales during the end of December to New Year holiday period. 0110 GMT **PARIS MIKI DIVES AFTER SLASHING 2002/03 OUTLOOK**

Paris Miki Inc down 10.21 percent at 1,407 yen after the operator of chain stores selling eyeglass frames, lenses and other optical merchandise slashed its group net profit forecast by 66 percent to 1.97 billion yen ($16.6 million) for the year to March. The company cut its sales outlook by 11 percent to 72.94 billion yen, which would be a drop of 13.2 percent from 2001/02. 0045 GMT **CIS SURGES ON SONY'S ACQUISITION PLANS**

CIS Corp, an information systems consulting firm, up 18.31 percent at 42,000 yen after electronics giant Sony Corp announced on Tuesday that it would acquire CIS via a share swap on May 1.

Under the deal, each CIS share will be exchanged for 8.74 shares in Sony, placing a 19 percent premium based on the closing share prices of Sony and CIS on Tuesday.

Sony down 0.21 percent at 4,840 yen, unmoved by a separate announcement also on Tuesday that it would abolish its Japanese audit system and set up a U.S.-style corporate governance model in a move aimed at improving corporate governance. 0023 GMT **JFE UP AFTER UNVEILING JOB, PRODUCTION CUTS**

JFE Holdings Inc up 3.33 percent at 1,550 yen after Japan's largest steelmaker said on Tuesday it would cut eight percent of its workforce, slash production and look to East Asia to help it overcome a sluggish domestic market and competition.

Under a three-year business plan from April 2003 JFE plans to trim domestic steel-making capacity by around 15 percent by March 2004 by closing two blast furnaces and 12 other production lines. It also plans to cut 8.6 percent of its workforce by March 2006. JFE said it expected its latest restructuring efforts to help boost group current profit to 250 billion yen ($1.1 billion) in the year to March 2006, 25 percent more than the original forecast made in December 2001. 0014 GMT **SHIMIZU DOWN AFTER SLASHING PROFIT OUTLOOK**

Shimizu Corp down 2.65 percent at 294 yen after the leading builder said on Tuesday it had revised down its group net profit forecast for the year through March by 60 percent due to one-off restructuring charges and reduced value of its assets.

Shimizu now sees group net profit at six billion yen ($50.6 million), down from an earlier estimate of 15 billion yen, after it was hit by 26.5 billion yen in group restructuring charges as well as losses on securities and other assets. 0004 GMT ($1=118.67 yen)