Nikkei posts worst week in three months

Japan's Nikkei average clung to gains of 0.9 percent on Friday but posted its worst week in three months, with jittery investors needing more proof that the economic recession is easing in order to push shares higher. Battery maker GS Yuasa and shares in companies similarly seen as eco-friendly tumbled on profit-taking after steep recent gains, but banks rose after brokerages took a positive stance by upgrading or raising target prices.
Elpida Memory Inc climbed 3.3 percent after three sources familiar with the matter said the chip maker plans to apply for tens of billions of yen in government funds this month to shore up its depleted capital. But a week after posting an eight-month closing high above 10,000, the benchmark Nikkei had its worst week since early March as investors raced to take profits, pushing it down 3.5 percent for the week.
"Investors really bought on expectations of economic recovery, but now we need something to back those feelings up. Without this, going back above 10,000 is likely to be tough," said Katsuhiko Kodama, senior strategist at Toyo Securities. The Nikkei average rose 82.54 points to 9,786.26, having retreated from an eight-month closing high of 10,135.82 hit a week ago. The broader Topix edged up 0.9 percent to 918.97.
"The 10,000 level is a gain of roughly 30 percent from the start of April. Anyone would sell if they have a 30 percent profit," said Masayoshi Okamoto, head of dealing at Jujiya Securities. Though the market took heart from gains made on Wall Street after positive economic data was released on Thursday, uncertainty reigned in several areas.
Among Friday's losers were car battery maker GS Yuasa Corp, which slid 13.8 percent to 976 yen. GS Yuasa, one of the most actively traded Nikkei 225 stocks this year, had climbed as high as 1,228 yen this week, its share price having tripled from a March trough of 376 yen.
Sanyo Electric fell 4.1 percent to 259 yen after soaring on Wednesday after the firm said it had secured hybrid battery buyers in the United States, Europe and Japan. But banks climbed, with positive sentiment from gains by their US peers bolstered as brokerages lifted ratings and target prices. Mizuho Financial Group rose 3.7 percent to 250 yen after Goldman Sachs analysts took Mizuho off their "conviction sell list" and upgraded the bank to "neutral".
Trading firms gained as oil rose and copper steadied after a 5 percent decline earlier this week. Mitsubishi Corprose 1.8 percent to 1,826 yen, Mitsui & Co rose 3.5 percent to 1,179 yen and Itochu Corp gained 2.1 percent to 672 yen. Trade was reasonably active, with 2.47 billion shares changing hands on the Tokyo exchange's first section, just below last week's daily average of 2.51 billion shares. Declining shares outnumbered advancing ones by nearly 2 to 1.