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(Bloomberg) — Japanese stocks fell after data from the U.S. and China spurred concerns about the global economic outlook.
Japan Airlines Co. sank 2.1 percent after increasing its net-income forecast by less than expected. Skymark Airlines Co. tumbled 81 percent after the Tokyo Stock Exchange scrapped trading limits for the bankruptcy-headed budget airliner. Chubu Electric Power Co. sank 5.6 percent after the cutting its full- year forecast. Fujitsu Ltd. soared 9.9 percent after raising its net-income forecast.
The Topix index lost 0.3 percent to 1,410.34 as of 12:42 p.m. in Tokyo, after advancing 0.8 percent last week. All but nine of its 33 industry groups fell. The Nikkei 225 Stock Average declined 0.4 percent to 17,608.82. The yen traded at 117.77 per dollar after earlier strengthening to as much as 116.66. U.S. stocks slumped on Jan. 30, capping the biggest monthly loss in a year as economic growth in the world’s largest economy came in below analyst estimates.
“We’re right in the middle of earnings season, and while the Japanese results on Friday weren’t too bad, the weakness in the U.S. is weighing on shares today,” said Hitoshi Asaoka, a Tokyo-based senior strategist at Mizuho Trust & Banking Co. “Japanese stocks were also at a pretty high level at the end of last week, so we may be seeing some profit-taking for now.”

Growth Slows

The U.S. economy grew an annualized 2.6 percent in the fourth quarter, trailing economist estimates for 3 percent and weakening from 5 percent in the previous three months. The slowdown in growth came as weaker business investment, government spending and a wider trade gap outweighed stronger- than-expected consumer spending.
“This kind of U.S. gross domestic product reading will weigh on the stock market, which had been worried about slowing global economic growth since last year,” said Shoji Hirakawa, chief equity strategist at Okasan Securities Co. in Tokyo. “The global economy should benefit from cheaper oil, but we’re being hit with the negative effects first, and this will likely ripple in to weaker stock prices as well.”
Yields on 10-year U.S. Treasuries slid to the lowest level in more than 20 months after the data and have fallen more than 50 basis points this year even as the Federal Reserve prepares to raise interest rates as early as June.
China’s official manufacturing gauge, the purchasing managers’ index, shrank last month for the first time in more than two years, data released at the weekend showed. The measure unexpectedly contracted to 49.8, below economist forecasts of 50.2. A reading below 50 signals a contraction. A private China factory report also came in lower than estimated today.

Airlines Tumble

Japan Airlines sank 2.1 percent to 3,925 yen after raising its full-year net-income outlook by less than expected. The company increased its forecast to 139 billion yen, while analysts had expected 146.5 billion yen.
Skymark Airlines tumbled 81 percent to 30 yen after the TSE scrapped the daily price limits. Share declines by the budget airline, which filed for bankruptcy last week, had been restricted by the exchange’s limits on maximum daily price movements.
Chubu Electric Power slumped 5.6 percent to 1,475 yen after cutting its full-year net-income forecast by 26 percent to 28 billion yen, below analyst estimates of 48 billion yen. Shares have been gaining this year, touching the highest level last week since May 2011, on expectations the company will raise prices.
Fujitsu soared 9.9 percent to 687.6 yen, heading for the highest close in nearly two months, after the electronics-maker reported net income of 27.6 billion yen, more than the 19.1 billion expected by analysts. The company also raised its net- income forecast for the year by 5.6 percent to 132 billion yen.
Futures on the Standard & Poor’s 500 Index added 0.2 percent after the underlying gauge lost 1.3 percent on Jan. 30, capping a 3.1 percent drop for the month.

To contact the reporters on this story: Yuji Nakamura in Tokyo at ynakamura56@bloomberg.net; Yuko Takeo in Tokyo at ytakeo2@bloomberg.net To contact the editors responsible for this story: Sarah McDonald at smcdonald23@bloomberg.net John McCluskey