* Nikkei falls 4.3 pct after hitting lowest point in a month
* Sony tumbles 8 pct on news of operating loss
* A stronger yen, a fall on Wall Street hurt exporters
(Adds stocks, details)
By Aiko Hayashi
TOKYO, Jan 13 (Reuters) - The Nikkei average share slid 4.3
percent on Tuesday with Sony Corp <6758.T> tumbling on news of an
operating loss and camera maker Canon Inc <7751.T> dropping on
discouraging remarks about sales by its chairman.
A stronger yen and a fall on Wall Street also hurt other
exporters and the Nikkei at one stage hit its lowest point in a
month.
Property firms such as Mitsubishi Estate Co <8802.T> took a
beating after Japanese real estate investment firm Creed Corp
<8888.T> filed for court protection from creditors, hurt by a
sharp downturn in the property market. []
"The focus is now on the deterioration of fundamentals both
in Japan and the United States after hopes for the new U.S.
administration boosted the Nikkei to above 9,000," said Yutaka
Miura, a senior technical analyst at Shinko Securities.
The benchmark Nikkei <> lost 380.32 points to 8,456.48,
after touching its lowest level since Dec. 15 at one stage.
Just last week, the Nikkei logged a two-month closing high at
9,239.24, helped by a softer yen and amid hopes for a U.S.
stimulus package to boost the economy.
The broader Topix <> shed 4.4 percent to 817.69.
The Dow Jones industrial average <> fell 1.5 percent on
Monday amid concerns about the earnings season, while the dollar
fell 1.3 percent to 89.10 yen <JPY=>, just above a three-week low
and near December's 13-1/2-year trough just above 87 yen. []
Investors fret over a stronger yen as it eats into exporters'
overseas profits when repatriated.
Sony shares were 8 percent lower at 2,020 yen after a source
said the firm was expected to post an operating loss of about 100
billion yen ($1.1 billion) for 2008/09, far short of the company
forecast for a profit of 200 billion yen. []
The loss had first been flagged by the Nikkei business daily.
"The loss isn't a shock. All the top car firms and places
like Panasonic have announced losses -- it's just part of the
trend and this was inevitable," said Hiroaki Osakabe, fund
manager at Chibagin Asset Management.
"The weak dollar will have an impact in the short-term. Sony
in particular has a large exposure to Europe, with Sony Ericsson,
and the euro is below 120 yen. Things are tough."
EXPORTERS HURT
Canon lost 7 percent to 2,910 yen after the chairman of the
world's largest digital camera maker said its year-end holiday
sales were "disappointing" and he expected a difficult 2009 as an
economic downturn hits consumer demand. []
Automakers also fell, with Toyota Motor Corp <7203.T>
skidding 5.9 percent to 2,890 yen and Honda Motor Co <7267.T>
shedding 6 percent to 1,955 yen.
Creed Corp <8888.T> was untraded with a glut of sellers at
11,790 yen, down 14.5 percent from Friday's close, after saying
it had filed for court protection from creditors with 65 billion
yen in debt.
Shares of Mitsubishi Estate sank 8.9 percent to 1,295 yen and
Mitsui Fudosan Co <8801.T> gave up 7.7 percent to 1,294 yen.
Nippon Steel Corp <5401.T>, the world's second-biggest steel
maker, declined 5.6 percent to 289 yen after its chairman said on
Sunday it is likely to reduce output further as it struggles with
weak demand and pressure for price cuts from battered automakers.
[]
But Fast Retailing <9983.T> rose 1.1 percent to 12,810 yen
and was the top positive contributor to the Nikkei 225 after it
booked a 46 percent gain in first-quarter profit and lifted its
annual forecast, bucking an industry downturn as cost-conscious
consumers sought out its Uniqlo casual clothing chain.
[]
Trade slowed on the Tokyo exchange's first section, with 925
million shares changing hands, compared with last week's morning
average of 1.1 billion.
Declining stocks outpaced advancing ones by more than 12 to
1.
(Additional reporting by Elaine Lies; Editing by Edwina Gibbs)
