Japan's Nikkei 225 Declines on Concern U.S. Spending Slowing

Japan's Nikkei 225 Stock Average dropped. Exporters including Honda Motor Co. fell after reports from the U.S. suggested consumer spending is slowing in Japan's largest overseas market.

Honda, Japan's No. 2 automaker, snapped a two-day advance after the Commerce Department said U.S. department store sales fell last month and Macy's Inc. slashed its earnings forecast.

Advantest Corp. led semiconductor-related shares lower after Applied Materials Inc., the largest maker of chip- production machines, said profit slid 6.1 percent last quarter.

``Consumption will probably become weaker and weaker in the U.S., so I'm not bullish for the economy and the stock market,'' said Soichiro Monji, who helps oversee $47 billion at Daiwa SB Investments Ltd. in Tokyo.

The Nikkei 225 slid 103.26, or 0.7 percent, to 15,396.30 at the close of trading in Tokyo, its ninth decline in the last 10 days. The broader Topix added 1.15, or 0.1 percent, to 1,498.86. About three shares rose for every two that fell among the 1,718 Topix members.

Commodity-related shares including Mitsui & Co. advanced, leading gains in the Topix, after the price of oil had its biggest gain in two weeks and copper rose the most in 16 months. Daikin Industries Ltd. climbed after Japan's biggest maker of air conditioners said first-half profit doubled.

U.S. Spending

Honda slid 50 yen, or 1.3 percent, to 3,830. Nintendo Co., Japan's second-largest video-game maker, fell 700 yen, or 1.1 percent. to 63,300 in Osaka. Sharp Corp., Japan's largest maker of liquid-crystal display televisions, slumped 52 yen, or 2.8 percent, to 1,778.

U.S. department store sales fell 0.5 percent in October, the Commerce Department said yesterday. Additionally, Macy's Inc. tumbled the most in five years after saying same-store sales may drop in the fourth quarter and revenue will grow less than expected. The reports damped confidence sparked by Wal-Mart Stores Inc.'s earnings the previous day that exceeded analyst estimates. The U.S. is Japan's largest export market.

Advantest, the world's biggest maker of equipment used to test computer memory chips, slid 140 yen, or 4.6 percent, to 2,930, the lowest since July 2003. Tokyo Electron Ltd., the second-biggest maker of machines used to make semiconductors, fell 210 yen, or 3.4 percent, to 6,040.

Applied Materials said yesterday a computer-memory chip slump will reduce orders until the first half of next year. The company's shares fell 4.3 percent to $18 in extended trading.
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