• Most Popular
  • Most Shared

Nikkei up 0.2 pct, banks sold on Merrill loss

Wed Oct 24, 2007 10:11pm EDT

Stocks

   

(Updates to midsession)

Stocks

TOKYO, Oct 25 (Reuters) - Japan's Nikkei average crept up 0.2 percent on Thursday, after Wall Street ended the session with only a small decline despite a big loss reported by Merrill Lynch.

Still, the upside was heavy as a stronger yen against the dollar put pressure on exporters like Canon Inc (7751.T).

Bank shares were also sold after Merrill, the world's largest brokerage, reported a $2.3 billion loss and write-downs of $7.9 billion for bad bets on mortgages and leveraged loans.

The benchmark Nikkei .N225 ended the morning session up 34.75 points at 16,393.14. The broader TOPIX index was down 0.3 percent at 1,558.68.

Stocks


More from Reuters

Photo

Accused 9/11 plotters may face NY "Guantanamo"

NEW YORK (Reuters) - If the men accused of plotting the September 11 attacks wonder what conditions they might face when they are moved to New York from Guantanamo Bay for trial, they can expect solitary confinement, 23-hour-a-day lockdowns, constant video surveillance and almost no visitors.

» More Top News
A broker waits for a phone call as he trades on the dealing floor at ICAP in Jersey City, New Jersey December 9, 2009. REUTERS/Lucas Jackson

Easy come, easy go

After a run of easy money this year, fund managers cast a wary eye on investment prospects in 2010.  Full Article 

Investment Outlook Summit

"I don't think this is the bottom. We're going to have more problems in the world economy. We're papering over the problems more than anything else."

Well-known investorJim Rogers,
on the sinking greenback and the fundamental problems with the U.S. economy
    Currencies