May 1 (Bloomberg) -- Japanese stocks fell, led by Sony Corp. and Honda Motor Co., after figures showed personal spending slowed in the U.S., hurting demand in Japan's biggest overseas market.
Sumitomo Mitsui Financial Group Inc., the country's third- biggest lender by assets, led banks lower after saying profit was worse than it forecast.
``We see a mixed picture for the U.S. economy and investors reacted to the slowing consumer spending by selling exporters,'' said Hideyuki Ookoshi, who oversees $365 million at Chiba-Gin Asset Management Co. in Tokyo. ``Japan's major banks need more time to recover as loan demand and profit margins remain small.''
Chubu Electric Power Co. and Tokyo Electric Power Co. led falls by utility companies after reporting declines in profit.
The Nikkei 225 Stock Average slid 157.11, or 0.9 percent, to 17,243.30 at the 11 a.m. break in Tokyo. The broader Topix index lost 8.29, or 0.5 percent, to 1692.71. Gauges that track technology-related companies and automakers such as Sony and Honda accounted for a third of the Topix's fall.
Australia's S&P/ASX 200 Index slipped 0.1 percent, Indonesia's Jakarta Composite index lost 0.2 percent and New Zealand's NZX 50 Index fell 0.2 percent. All other markets in the region are closed today for public holidays.
Sony, the world's largest maker of game consoles, dropped 100 yen, or 1.6 percent, to 6,320. Honda, Japan's No. 2 automaker by sales, fell 50 yen, or 1.2 percent, to 4,080.
The U.S. was the largest overseas market for Sony in the year ended March 2006, as Honda made more than half of its sales in North America.
Slowing Spending
U.S. stocks fell after the Commerce Department said consumer spending slowed in March, gaining 0.3 percent from the previous month. That was less than a revised 0.7 percent increase in February and falling short of the average economist estimate of 0.5 percent.
The report said a price gauge tied to spending patterns that excludes food and energy costs was unchanged in March from a month earlier. Economists forecast a 0.1 percent.
Sumitomo Mitsui Financial declined 30,000 yen, or 2.9 percent, to 1.02 million. Mitsubishi UFJ Financial Group Inc., Japan's biggest lender by assets, lost 10,000 yen, or 0.8 percent, to 1.24 million.
Sumitomo said its full-year profit fell 36 percent from a year earlier, worse than its forecast, due to losses incurred in bond trading and provisions for its investment in consumer lender unit Promise Co.
Net income was 440 billion yen ($3.7 billion) in the year ended March 31, the bank said on April 27 in a preliminary earnings statement. That was less than its previous forecast of 570 billion yen.
Utility Shares Fall
Chubu Electric, Japan's third-biggest utility, fell 130 yen, or 3.4 percent, to 3,720 after reporting its annual net income dropped 24 percent to 90.6 billion yen. Tokyo Electric, the nation's biggest power utility, lost 30 yen, or 0.8 percent, to 3,950. Its net income for the three months ended March 31 slumped 67 percent from a year earlier to 43.3 billion yen.
Ibiden Co., an integrated circuit package maker, slid 340 yen, or 5 percent, to 6,510. The company, which had a 78 percent jump in its full-year net income last business year, forecast its profit will fall 8.9 percent to 44 billion yen this year.
Alpine Electronics Inc., a maker of car audio equipment, tumbled 119 yen, or 6 percent, to 1,853 after saying it expects a 13 percent fall in net income this business year.
Trading companies including Mitsui & Co. and Sumitomo Corp. advanced after forecasting record profits for this year.
Mitsui, Japan's second-biggest trading company, advanced 30 yen, or 1.4 percent, to 2,185. Sumitomo, the third largest, rose 20 yen, or 1 percent, to 2,085.
Japan's five biggest trading companies, including Mitsui and Sumitomo, expect profits to surpass last year's records as rising global demand may keep prices of metals and oil near their peaks.
Nikkei futures expiring in June fell 0.9 percent to 17,250 in Osaka and lost 0.7 percent to 17,245 in Singapore.
To contact the reporter for this story: Makiko Suzuki in Tokyo at msuzuki13@bloomberg.net .
Last Updated: April 30, 2007 23:14 EDT
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