Nikkei falls on rate concerns; INPEX advances

Tokyo, Apr 10: The Nikkei fell 0.61 percent on Monday, with shares in Sony Corp. and other recent gainers declining after stronger-than-expected U.S. jobs data fuelled concerns about further interest rate increases in the world's largest economy.

Shares in INPEX Holdings Inc. climbed after the energy developer said it planned to invest billion to billion to produce liquefied natural gas off the coast of Australia.

Investors showed little reaction to Japan's February machinery orders data, released in the afternoon, which came in just above expectations.

''The (U.S.) jobs data is weighing on the market,'' said Toshihiko Matsuno, an assistant general manager of investment research at SMBC Friend Securities.

The job growth report prompted concern that the Federal Reserve will continue to push interest rates higher. Higher rates are seen as negative for stocks, as they increase borrowing costs and can crimp consumer spending.

''In addition, the market has risen steadily as of late, so I think investors were hoping to see a correction at some point. In a sense, the jobs data became an excuse for the correction,'' SMBC Friend's Matsuno said.

The Nikkei finished down 106.79 points at 17,456.58. On Friday it booked its highest close since July 2000.

The broader TOPIX index was down 0.36 percent on Monday at 1,777.34 after also hitting a multi-year closing high on Friday.

Entertainment and electronics conglomerate Sony gave up 1.2 percent to 5,630 yen. It had risen for the previous five sessions.

Honda Motor Co. Ltd., Japan's third-largest auto maker, lost 0.8 percent to 7,780 yen, after having gained 7.5 percent so far this month.

Sharp Corp., the world's top maker of liquid crystal display TVs, fell 1.4 percent to 2,115 yen after reaching a two-month high the previous session.

INPEX MOVES HIGHER

Shares in INPEX jumped 6 percent to 1.23 million yen after it said it would invest -6 billion to produce liquefied natural gas off the northwest coast of Australia to meet rising demand.

The share move underlined the market's keen interest in the oil developer, said Shigemi Nonaka, chairman of Polestar Investment Management Co. Ltd.

''INPEX is a company that investors pay very close attention to after oil prices have risen so much, and it is not surprising to see it getting this kind of attention at the moment,'' he said.

''There are also expectations that oil prices will remain high for some time, and that also could be boosting its popularity,'' Nonaka added.

Shares in Shinko Electric Industries Co. Ltd. fell 4.9 percent to 3,300 yen after brokerage Credit Suisse lowered its rating on the maker of electronics parts to ''neutral'' from ''outperform'' and cut its target price to 3,200 yen from 3,667 yen.

The brokerage cited the possibility of an early softening of market conditions for high-end semiconductor package substrates, as one of the reasons for the downgrade.

Trade was slow, with 1.81 billion shares changing hands on the Tokyo exchange's first section, compared with last week's daily average of 1.99 billion shares.

Decliners outnumbered gainers 863 to 704.

REUTERS