Sony Corp., Japan’s biggest exporter of consumer electronics, fell to its lowest level in 24 years in Tokyo trading on concerns about televisions sales and the worsening impact from a strengthening yen, an analyst said.
The stock dropped as much as 6.2 percent to 1,413 yen, the lowest intraday level since June 10, 1987, according to data compiled by Bloomberg. They changed hands at 1,418 yen at 1:17 p.m. The shares have dropped 52 percent this year.
“Japanese exporters will likely face a severe impact on their earnings from the yen’s gain against the euro and the dollar,” Masahiko Ishino, an analyst at Mitsubishi UFJ Morgan Stanley Securities Co. in Tokyo, said by phone today. “Demand for TV sets has been also weak, making their earnings outlook even dimmer.”
Panasonic Corp., Sony’s closest domestic rival, declined 5.7 percent and Sharp Corp. fell by 5.2 percent today. Japan’s Topix index is set for its biggest drop since March, after U.S. consumer spending slowed and incomes unexpectedly dropped in the world’s biggest economy, damping the earnings outlook for Asia’s exporters.
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