Tokyo stocks end lower, Toshiba down on share issuance

TOKYO: Tokyo stocks ended lower Monday, hit by a stronger yen with Toshiba plunging after the embattled Japanese conglomerate announced plans to issue new shares.

The benchmark Nikkei 225 index fell 0.60 percent, or 135.04 points, to 22,261.76, while the broader Topix closed down 0.23 percent, or 4.11 points, at 1,759.65.

"Major shares are being sold as investors don't like a higher yen," said Yoshihiro Ito, chief strategist at Okasan Online Securities in a commentary.

For the Japanese shares to rebound, investors "want to see some sort of catalysts such as a progress in US tax reforms or a good start for the Christmas shopping season in the US," said Masayuki Doshida, senior analyst at Rakuten Securities.

The dollar bought 112.01 yen, down from 112.15 yen in New York and well off the 112.54 yen in Tokyo earlier Friday.

Toshiba tumbled 5.82 percent to 275 yen after unveiling plans to issue new shares to raise a total of 600 billion yen, with financing expected to close on December 5.

Toshiba is on the ropes after the disastrous acquisition of US nuclear energy firm Westinghouse, which racked up billions of dollars in losses before being placed in bankruptcy protection.

Nissan slipped 0.23 percent to 1,067.5 yen after it submitted the results of a probe into an inspection scandal to the transport ministry.

But Honda ended 0.46 percent higher at 3,687 yen, despite a weekend recall of 800,000 minivans in the US, as a brokerage upgraded its evaluation of the shares.