Nikkei dips before earnings, volume lowest this year

Japan's Nikkei stock average inched down in thin trade on Monday as investors grew cautious ahead of key corporate earnings reports and a closely watched US Federal Reserve meeting this week but buoyant shipping stocks provided support.

Many investors have taken to the sidelines as Japan's earnings reports for the January-March quarter kick off in earnest this week, to see if companies give forecasts for the year that started on April 1 and provide clarity on the extent of damage from last month's earthquake and tsunami.
"The Nikkei ran out of steam in the afternoon as many buyers simply backed off ahead of a series of domestic earnings," said Hideyuki Ishiguro, a supervisor at Okasan Securities.
"The market is watching whether companies are able to provide estimates. The Nikkei could come under more pressure if many are unable to provide forecasts at their earnings announcements."
Last week, JFE Holdings, the world's fifth-largest steel maker, gave no earnings forecast for the current financial year to March 2012 after the March 11 earthquake and tsunami forced it to slash production.
Investors were also reluctant about building large positions ahead of the US Federal Reserve's monetary policy meeting this week and a series of holidays in Japan in late April and early May, known as "Golden Week".
The benchmark Nikkei average closed down 0.1% at 9,671.96, while the broader Topix fell 0.2% to 840.68.
Volume fell to its lowest this year, with only 1.46 billion shares changing hands on the Tokyo Stock Exchange's first section.

Shipping stocks

Shipping stocks outperformed after the Nikkei business daily reported on the weekend that earnings sharply rebounded at Japan's three major marine transport companies in the last business year, emerging largely unscathed from last month's disaster.
Mitsui OSK Lines rose 2.0% to 461 yen, Nippon Yusen gained 1.3% to 304 yen and Kawasaki Kisen added 0.7% to 278 yen.
After the bell, Nintendo said it posted its second straight fall in annual profit, as sales of its ageing Wii game console slowed and the earthquake weighed on Japanese consumer spending.
The game maker's operating profit fell 52% to 171.1 billion yen ($2.09 billion) in the year ended in March from 356.8 billion yen the previous year, below a Thomson Reuters SmartEstimate of 200.8 billion yen. SmartEstimates put more weight on recent forecasts by highly rated analysts.
Nintendo said it would launch an upgraded model of the Wii in 2012.
Also after the close, Honda Motor said that its production in Japan would return to normal levels within this year, adding that its domestic output until the end of June would be at 50% of its original plans.
Toyota Motor Corp on Friday also said it could take until the end of the year before production fully recovered to levels preceding the massive March 11 earthquake and tsunami, which devastated Japan's northeast and disrupted the supply of key parts.
Motor-maker Nidec Corp Chief Executive Shigenobu Nagamori said the company wanted to invest in building parts for automakers and manufacturers of household appliances.
(USD 1 = 81.845 Japanese Yen)