Nikkei flat as exporters dip, domestic stocks gain

Tokyo, Dec 4: The Nikkei was flat on Monday as exporters such as Honda Motor Co. Ltd. fell on a strong yen while investors flocked to domestic demand-related issues such as property and consumer finance stocks.

All in all traders were cautious after weak capital spending data released in the morning fueled concern that rosy gross domestic product growth data issued in November may be revised down later this week.

''The market is unlikely to fall but investors are worried about a downward revision to the GDP,'' said Tsuyoshi Nomaguchi, a strategist in the investment advisory department at Daiwa Securities Co. Ltd.

''The market will also likely be volatile ahead of Friday when Nikkei futures and options contracts are settled,'' he said.

The Nikkei shed was down less than a point at 16,320.91 as of 0451 GMT, after climbing 3.7 percent last week. The broader TOPIX index was up 0.05 percent at 1,605.72.

Data released before the open showed Japanese firms raised spending on plant and equipment by 12.0 percent in July-September compared with the same quarter last year, slowing from a 16.6 percent gain in April-June.

The capex figures will be included in the revised GDP figures for the same quarter, which will be announced on Friday.

Honda Motor fell 1.2 percent to 4,000 yen as the yen was near four-month highs against the dollar at around 115.45 yen on Monday morning.

Canon Inc., which makes about three-quarters of its sales overseas, lost 0.7 percent to 6,040 yen.

Some non-exporters drew buyers. Japan's third-ranked Sumitomo Realty&Development Co. Ltd. rose 2.2 percent and fifth-ranked Nomura Real Estate Holdings Inc. added 2.9 percent.

Shares of consumer finance companies rang up gains, with Japan's biggest consumer lender Aiful Corp. jumping 5.4 percent.

Among stock gainers, SBI Holdings Inc. rose 4.0 percent to 42,050 yen after business daily Nihon Keizai said the venture capital firm would launch an after-hours trading service as early as February for all domestic stocks listed on Japan's exchanges.

Reuters