ramin, what can you tell us? >> very good rning to you, ai. yes, a lot of concern there about what's happening in greece and a possible exit from the eurozone but not only that, we've also had the downgrade of a lot of spanish and italian banks. look at the opening levels for this friday for the nikkei and the topix and we've actually broken below another key level. you can see there, 8,700 -- 8,694 now, down 2%. nikkei really having a tough time this week despite a little bit of positive economic data yesterday's gdp numbers showing a third straight quarterly growth number which actually spurred some market confidence in japan. yesterday we did see a little bit of a rebound across a lot of sectors which had been sold off heavily earlier in the week but there is hesitancy in the markets over in europe and we're seeing that directly translated into markets as well. now the euro of course has been heavily affected by all of this. let's have a look at some of the currency pairs as well. dollar/yen top of the screen there under 80 yen, but if you

ramin mellegard has the latest. ramin, good morning. economic data is providing some positive in the u.s. as well as here. tell us about it. >> reporter: exactly, ai. economic data before the markets open here. we had first quarter gdp data out of japan, rising 1.4% on an annual basis. that is a strong reversal from the contraction that we had for the previous quarter so quite positive there. in the u.s. we had industrial production data for april which showed one of the biggest jumps since december of 2010 and housing starts. it is a crucial fact. housing starts rising indicating some of the best growth there for the last four years. markets are down in the u.s. and europe. let's see how things are kicking off in tokyo. a bit of a mixed picture. nikkei in the positive territory. topix trading lower. nikkei has been trading below 9,000 for four straight days. you can see again, it is below 8,800. it has traded below yesterday. blue chips are trading low. we have seen sony down around 35% since the highs we set in march. other sector sto

back to you. >> ramin, thanks a lot, ramin mellegarfrom the tokyo stock exchange. lks like other markets open this hour in the asia-pacific are also higher so i'll leave you with the latest in market figures. >>> senior diplomats from japan, south korea and the united states met in seoul to talk about how to deal with a common threat. they agreed to take concerted action against north korea if the reclusive nation tests another nuclear weapon. it's the first time the group met since north korean authorities failed to launch what the calle a satellite-carrying rocket. >> if the dplk goes for further escalation, we are to take unified and coordinated actions and responses. >> we're united in our resolve to respond, not just the three allies but russia and china as well. >> u.s. delegate glyn davies again pushed china to play a greater role in preventing north korean officials from carrying out provocative acts. the u.n. security council adopted a statement condemning last month's launch. that sparked concerns the north leaders cod respd with t new nuclear tests. >>>

we go to ramin mellegard who is at the tokyo stock exchange for more. ramin, markets remain super jittery. what should investors here be focusing on? >> good morning to you, ai. you mentioned some key factors there, of course, markets really weighed down by events in europe, as well as continuing concerns about the huge loss at morgan chase, which is weighing down on banks and brokerages as well. yesterday the nikkei closed higher but below the key 9,000 level. opening levels for this tuesday just to get a sense of direction for the markets here, and you can see again, we are continuing the overall trend lower, 8,894 for the nikkei, 748 for the topix. also, moody's investor service downgraded 26 italian banks. i know you'll have more details on that later on. of course, we will be keeping track of banks and brokerages. that sector was way down yesterday on the continuing concerns about jpmorgan chase's $2 billion investment loss. another factor here in japan, ai, we'll have earnings for the three mega banks here, mitsubishi, sumitomo and mizuho financia

ramin, the yen's recent surge has not been good for japanese exporters. how are we starting off today? >> good morning to you, ai. a negate startre. let'go straito the opening levels for the nikkei and the topix. quite a drastic fall with the nikkei down 1.91%. the topics now at 712. came at plus 0.2%. but really the main picture that is effecting markets now is eurozone matters. not only greece but more importantly now how spain is playg into the markets which may have far bigger implications than greece even. we already had heard its debt rating was downgraded earlier in the week which just making it harder for spain to borrow funds to cover its costs. that's pushed the euro to two-year lows against the dollar. investors investors switching to safer ones. now, just having a look at where we stand this thursday morning, 78.90-96 yen. reaching 78.87 at one point. euro you can see there. now trading at 97.58-65. another interesting story there as the euro continues to fall against the yen. now, the question on most investors' minds -- with such high exposu

back to you. >> ramin, thanks a lot for that update, from the tokyo stock exchange. we have our own set of economic data from here in japan. the core machinery orders fell in march for the first time in three months. the cabinet office said on wednesday that major machinery makers received private sector orders worth about $9.3 billion from domestic firms. that is a decrease of 2.8% in the terms from february. the figure excludes machinery orders for ships and power plants. orders from the manufacturing sector fell 8.4%. nonmanufacturing orders also declined by almost 4%. >>> that is the latest from me for this hour. i'll leave you with the latest market figures. >>> japan's defense ministry says chinese navy vessels havee pacific ocean. it says chinese navy is improving its capability for long-term operations in the pacific. the patrol aircraft confirmed on tuesday morning that two frigates passed through international waters. they later headed to the east china sea. the vessels went to the pacific on april 30th by navigating off southern japan. they conducted the d

for that we're going to go to ramin mellegard. good morning to you. happy friday. there some are mixed signals from europe as well as the u.s. how are tokyo stocks starting off this morning? >> very good morning, ai. yes, indeed. confusing signals all around really, and from the eu officials saying that they want greece to stay in the eurozone. but then also not agreeing to certain measures for instance common eurozone bonds. also in the -- in other areas, for instce withhe earnings we had dell earlier in the week coming out with disappointing earnings results. and that pushed the tech sector lower and later in the week hewlett-packard coming out and making aggressive cost-cutting measures. but then that actually pushed the high tech sector higher. also in the u.s. durable goods orders yesterday which rose for may and jobless claims also fell. so we have fundamental data earnings and events in europe all mixed signals. let's see how the actual nikkei and topix are kicking off this friday. and we'll get anoth pture here. actually, a little baste positive start here.

back to you. >> ramin, thanks a lot. from the tokyo stock exchange. this just in for you. japan's trade balance in april was in the red for a second straight month. the finance ministry said in its preliminary report on wednesday morning that japan's trade deficit was about $6.5 billion. exports were up for a second month in a row. that's almost an 8% rise from a year earlier in yen terms. it's mainly due to an increase in shipments of autos and automotive parts. however, imports, too, rose 8%, due to a rise in liquefied natural gas and crude oil. and that follows the shutdown of nuclear power plants across the country in the wake of the fukushima daiichi accident last year. >>> all right. more on the trade balance as the day progresses. now, separately, an international survey on overall happiness in life has found that japan ranks 21, and that's among 36 industrial emerging nations. the organization released the results on tuesday. japan is rated the safest country of all, because very few people reported falling victim to crimes. the country even ranked second and mathe

back to you, ai. >> all right, ramin. sounds good. both the nikkei and the topix over three-fourths of a percent. >>> tokyo electric power company will choose a new president. the orator of the crippled fukushima daiichi nuclear power plant will promote an executive in charge of compensation for nuclear accident victims. tepco plans to select the next president in an extra board meeting on tuesday. the 59-year-old will officially replace the current chief in june after the company gains approval from shareholders. he's been supporting the victims of the nuclear disaster. his promotion is seen as a bid to reyooufjuvenate management. tepco faces mounting challenges that include the decommissioning of damaged plantds while providing a stable power supply. this is in addition to the huge compensation payouts. more business for you next hour. i will leave you with a recap of the market figures. >>> syrians went to the polls on monday. they held parliamentary elections for the first time under the new constitution but the te took place as t

for more we go to the tokyo stock exchange where ramin is standing by. good morning you to. after discouraging figures out of the u.s., an upturn for the market. >> definitely, good morning to you. the ism manufacturing data in the u.s. really gave an excuse for market players to pile back into the markets. we saw that pushing the dow as well as the s&p 500 higher, as well. and that's after the bumpy ride that we saw in april with some heavy losses. so really just one trading day left here in the holiday-shortened weekend in japan. let's look at the opening levels for this wednesday morning. looking at the nikkei and the topix, you see as you said, a bit of a rebound this morning. both indices trading a touch higher as you also mentioned there. the nikkei did take a heavy hit yesterday, closing at more than a two-month low. but we're seeing a bit of a bounce here this morning. however, i have to remind viewers, though, that a lot of market participants are away, so volume may be less than average. now earnings in japan has, of course, been a focus. and we have seen some worr

at levels asn currently stillstrong against the dollar and the and, ramine while globae maintaining woes inthe frame as wellright? >> adp jobs thursday and data on . before that home price index quite a bit of econo like the eurozoneor now. back to you. tupdate. mentioned, japan's in april.rs said the adjusted .1% fromumber of people witho jobs was million employment million. meanwhile, job e april. ministry s for each t try attribute a recoverers in somareas. jobcies in regions rose. for104. in about has topped 10 meanwhile meanwhile, the ministry openings in the regions are mostly all right, that' me for thiseave you with a >>> peoples northeast arovercoming the2011on't be businesses, entire you their suc"the roadsday at 1:00 "n former prime defending how his country through most challenging times n was 112011 when annation sparked fukushima of the sry ang accident at th >> translator: the government promotin power and failing ant. as the head of th government atike apologize >> kan als the government about the accident from nuclear agency and other feared the situati out ofent kan fuk

for that we'll go to ramin mellegard who is at the tokyo stock exchange. >> good morning to you, ai. a favorable opening from what you just said about the dow there and we did see jobless claims a little better than expected. ncns f spain's bre withne b that also giv alikkearnings, an most o tm f a lny mangtv e ur 10227. weom bkn na an d lar. fo min an e txcd13 ayhahe t ngs coer eylye elnhed orey ent ofma tor estantnd es ng s. hede dsot tnk rets gmdir l upn . 0 s. ut . aecf et et f he devastating earth kwat and stunami, concerns are rising that another majorhe unt. experts predict that another earthquake could strike in central and western regions even in tokyo. scholars gathered in the capital onhuda to how to best prepar 29mi societies in such fiels earthquake engierg,onruio a urban planning took part in esblhing preparedness measures they discussed the need t me some residential areas to here toesttsunami.hnologies to be >> translator: i want to learn w prepare for a possible major earthquake in tokyondato >> translator: we should prepare for e nt bigquake, en if it doesn't happen

that was ramin melegard at the tokyo stock exchange. >>> japanese authorities are looking for counterparts in the united states for guidance. they're deciding whether to participate in transpacific partnership negotiations. the wide-ranging international pact would tear down trade barriers among a number of nations. japanese authorities are holding consultations with the nine countries that have already started tpp talk but they haven't won support from the united states, australia, and new zealand to participate in the main negotiations. president obama told prime minister noda monday his administration is concerned about japan's automobile insurance, and beef sectors. american trade officials want noda to further liberalize his country's markets. japanese government representatives say the discussions with the u.s. will help them assess the benefits of joining the tp talks. >>> the nine nations in the tpp negotiations aim to reach a deal this year. observers say it is not clear if japan can have much influence on the discussions within this time frame. >>> japan will get help from kazakh

. >> and, ramine, while global investors are maintaining focus on the debt woes in europe, u.s.igures, they're still in the frame as well, right? >> yeah. adp jobs data on thursday and then the main jobs data on friday. before that home price index to deal with. quite a bit of economic data. but looks like the eurozone really the big focus for now. back to you. >> thanks a lot for that update. now, as he just mentioned, japan's unemployment rate rose in april. the internal affairs ministry said the seasonally adjusted jobless rate is 4.6%. a rise of .1% from march. the number of people without jobs was over 3 million while those in employment numbered just about 63 million. meanwhile, job availability in japan rose for the eleventh month in a row in april. the labor ministry says there were 79 positions for each 100 job seekers last month. the ministry attributes the increase to a recovery among retailers in some areas. job vacancies in disaster-hit regions rose. the figure for miyagi prefecture stood at 104. that's the first time in about five years the number has topped 100. m