By Masaki Kondo and Satoshi Kawano Nov. 27 (Bloomberg) — Japanese stocks fell after commodity prices declined and the dollar depreciated to a 14-year low against the yen, dimming the overseas earnings prospects at exporters of cars and electronics. Inpex Corp. , Japan’s largest oil and gas explorer, sank 1.8 percent, and Mitsui Mining & Smelting Co. slid 3.2 percent. Toyota Motor Corp. lost 2.1 percent after the U.S. currency weakened below 85 yen. Shimizu Corp. was set to fall after Daiwa Securities Group Inc. said Japanese builders may fail to receive part of revenue from Dubai as the Middle Eastern nation’s state- owned company asked to postpone debt payments. “Commodity prices are seen as a barometer of investors’ appetite for risk,” said Juichi Wako , a senior strategist at Tokyo-based Nomura Holdings Inc. “Dubai’s debt problem ignited concern credit turmoil will break out again. People paid too much attention to foreign exchange yesterday and somehow neglected news about Dubai.” The Nikkei 225 Stock Average declined 1.4 percent to 9,256.69 as of 9:04 a.m. in Tokyo. The broader Topix index fell 1.1 percent to 820.11. This morning, Japan’s statistics bureau released its reports on the nation’s unemployment rate and consumer prices. Prices excluding fresh food fell 2.2 percent last month year-on- year, while the joblessness rate declined to 5.1 percent in October from 5.3 percent a month earlier. U.S. markets were closed yesterday for the Thanksgiving holiday. Europe’s Dow Jones Stoxx 600 Index dived 3.3 percent, the most since April 20, after Dubai World, the state-owned holding company, sought to delay debt payments. Dubai borrowed $80 billion in a four-year construction boom that reduced its reliance on falling oil supplies and created the region’s tourism and financial hub. The dollar depreciated to as low as 84.83 per yen today, the weakest since July 1995. A weaker dollar reduces the value of overseas sales at Japanese companies when repatriated. Crude oil for January delivery fell 1.7 percent to $76.23 a barrel in electronic trading in New York yesterday, while copper dropped 2.3 percent. Gold for immediate delivery declined 0.3 percent to $1,188.38 an ounce in London. To contact the reporter for this story: Masaki Kondo in Tokyo at mkondo3@bloomberg.net ; Satoshi Kawano in Tokyo skawano1@bloomberg.net .
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Japanese Stocks Drop as Dollar Weakens Below 85 Yen, Commodities Decline
