Japan's Stocks Fall on Europe Debt Concern; Taiyo Yuden Drops on Net Loss

(Bloomberg)--Japanese stocks fell on speculation that European government finances are worsening, raising concern the global recovery will stall. Kyocera Corp., an electronic-component maker that gets 18 percent of its revenue in Europe, lost 1 percent. Shionogi & Co., a drugmaker, retreated 2.1 percent, after Barclays Capital reduced its investment recommendation. Taiyo Yuden Co., an electronic-component maker, tumbled 5.1 percent after the company reversed its first-half profit forecast to a net loss.

“Concerns about the global economic outlook haven’t cleared,” said Yasushi Noguchi, a strategist in Tokyo at SMBC Friend Securities Co. “There are still issues related to Europe’s debt.” About 1,400 companies go ex-dividend today, according to data compiled by Bloomberg. Investors who buy those stocks won’t be entitled to receive dividends for April-September. That will erase about 63 points from the Nikkei 225, according to SMBC Friend Securities.

The Nikkei 225 Stock Average fell 0.6 percent to 9,541.92 as of 9:22 a.m. in Tokyo. The broader Topix index declined 0.5 percent to 845.02. Futures on the Standard & Poor’s 500 Index were little changed today. The index dropped 0.6 percent yesterday in New York. Financial companies led the decline as investors speculated that merger talks between M&T Bank Corp. and Banco Santander SA broke down and yield spreads showed perceptions of Ireland and Portugal’s creditworthiness are deteriorating.

The Topix has declined 6.9 percent in 2010, compared with gains of 2.4 percent by the S&P 500 and 3.6 percent by the Stoxx Europe 600 Index. Stocks in the Japanese benchmark are valued at 15.1 times estimated earnings, compared with 13.7 times for the S&P 500 and 12 times for the Stoxx 600.

To contact the reporter for this story: Akiko Ikeda in Tokyo at iakiko@bloomberg.net.