Nikkei brushes off BOJ rate hike, down on oil rise

Tokyo, Jul 14: The Nikkei average was down 1.37 percent on Friday, brushing off a Bank of Japan interest rate hike and dropping below 15,000 for the first time in two weeks, as higher oil prices triggered concerns about corporate profits at Toray Industries Inc. and others.

The market largely ignored the BOJ's decision to lift the overnight call rate target to 0.25 percent from around zero, as the move had been widely expected.

''There was no surprise in the stock market after the BOJ move,'' said Takahiko Murai, a general manager of equities at Nozomi Securities. ''Investors' concerns are now oil prices and the U.S.

economy.'' The Nikkei fell 206.58 points to 14,891.37 as of 0503 GMT. It earlier fell as low as 14,815.90, its lowest intraday level since June 22. The broader TOPIX index was down 1.48 percent at 1,528.02.

U.S. crude futures hit a record high above a barrel in after-hours New York trade on Thursday and Murai said many Japanese companies will have difficulty compensating for that rise by implementing cost cuts.

Toray, the largest maker of synthetic fibres, fell 2.8 percent to 937 yen.

REUTERS