for the nikkei and 758 for the topix. let's not forget the nikkei was down for two days in a row yesterday, on wednesday, on below average volume, really markets were really waiting for the fomc meetings, but the currency moves may be of a more indication as to where japanese stocks trade today, because we did see quite a bit of a shift there, both on the dollar/yen and the euro/yen. let's have a look at currency levels as well. dollar/yen looking at that right now, 78.52-56. i can tell you at the end of stock trading here on wednesday, it was at the lower 79 yen levels. now 78.49-57, so it did move there. the dollar did weaken after the fomc meetings. euro/yen coming up on the screen, the euro fell against the yen at 98.41-46, and now it was trading around 98.70 levels when stock trading ended here yesterday, wednesday, in japan. so the currency moves there, yongghi, might affect some of the exporters. yongghi? >> and ramin, we are approaching the last week of august. what else is in store for global investors? >> well,

and the topix also down almost by .2 of 1% on this thursday morning. now, as i said earlier, there are some key events, big economic events coming up later this week as well as next week. the biggest focus obviously is on the fed and whether it's going to take extra monetary easing steps to boost the economy. now, market watchers are paying close attention to fed chairman ben bernanke at the jackson hole meeting which is starting on friday. and whether he's going to make a hint about the extra easing including the possibility of qe3. that sense of caution was felt. both the dow and nasdaq ended in positive territory. stocks got help from positive u.s. economic data including housing and revised q-2 gdp. little reaction to the fed's beige book which says modest. and here in tokyo they will be looking at sharpe. the founder will visit an lcd panel plant in western japan. there he may explain the investment plan to the japanese company. now, sharp shares were up by nearly 7% yesterday. >> speaking of currencies, how is the yen trading against some of the

topix at 729. with markets looking at the fed and the ecb, japan is in full swing here as far as earnings reports are concerned across many sectors. we had a lot of reports yesterday. 60 companies reporting yesterday including panasonic, honda, and toshiba and others will get the market reaction and stock price movements of those in later reports. but let's not forget that one of the biggest thorn in the sides of japanese companies reporting earnings in the last quarter has been the stronger yen. let's look at the levels this morning as well for the dollar/yen and the euro/yen. cur certainsies playing a part. the yen is strong against the dollar. if the fed moves for growth it would strength the yen. euro/yen, 96.03 to 08. if there is no solution to the eurozone debt crisis the euro may weaken as well. a lot of focus on the currencies. >>> you mentioned earnings. break down the numbers for us. >> there were 60 companies yesterday. i'll break down some of the key blue chips. let's start with honda.

the nikkei did end in the positive yesterday barely and the topix in thenegave. we had a mixed session there. currency markets also have been trading in a tight range. we expect more of the same really ahead of that key meeting. however, as i said, we should really be keeping an eye out for apple related shares as well as google and android related shares as well following the u.s. court's decision to award apple massive damages against samsung the maker of the smart phones which basically run on google's android. so we're going to look at related shares here and we d of course see apple shares trading higher in the new york session and inversely google's android related shares trading lower. so in japan, of course, some of the component makers and parts makers such as manufacturing and keosera that makes the key components that make parts that go in the iphone and ipad, so that should be of interest. we'll keep track of those. also remitted to commodity shares, we should keep track of key stocks here. especially trading houses, some of the biggest japanese tradi

the nikkei and topix both in negative territory. >> that was our business reporter at the tokyo stock exchange. >>> that's all for biz news for this hour. for now i live with you a recap of the regional markets. >>> exports have fueled china's growth but the debt crisis in europe has jammed it up a bit. they're trying to make up for the economic shortfall by strengthening the market at hope. we have the report from beijing. >> reporter: just a 90-minute drive from shanghai, the set of kunshan is a major manufacturing hub. this private company makes row boa rowrobots for factories. the company isn't expecting such high sales this year. the europeans are among the firm's biggest customers are hovered by a dpebt crisis, so they are buying fewer robots. >> reporter: >> translator: exports fell due to credit uncertainty in europe, and also the large construction projects are lagging. >> reporter: the chinese sell more goods to europeans than to any other foreign customers. from january to july of this year, total sales to europeans fell 0.9% from a year earlier. each day the impact of euro

the nikkei and the topix trading marginally higher. yesterday they ended lower following the manufacturing pmi. with slow growth in the u.s., china and the imf coming out and saying that the europe debt crisis is weighing on japan's economic outlook it is not looking rosie for investors. and added to that we have the earnings results from jan fm last weeknd ctinug thi week a well. the banking sector, for instance in the nikkei's 11% drop. the tech sector getting caught up in lower and falling chip prices and also we've heard from the steel industry, also affected by slow growth in china as well as heavy industry and construction machinery stocks as well. not mention the stronger yen which has been hurting profitability for a lot of japanese companies. let's look at the levels for this ursday. the dollar/yen, 78.39 to 41. euro/yen, 95.89 to 90. the euro trading in a narrow range ahead of the meeting of the central bank today. >> july auto sales came out in the united states. how did the japanese out firms do there and what is on the ear

so let's see how the nikkei and topix are kicking 06 this friday. as can you see both indexes down 1%. now we did have some key earnings reports here in japan. we are in full swing in earnings season in japan with sony and sharp coming out after the bell yesterday. and sharp as we reported yesterday as well, ai, have announced that they will be cutting around 5,000 jobs to deal with all of these losses and their earnings report yesterday came out and said they showed a group loss projected of around $3 billion. now sony announcing a loss for the quarter as well. also costs due to divestments of its deal with sweden's eriksson mobile phone venture also dented sony's numbers as well. now following the ecb meeting and mario draghi's words, the euro took a fall having a look at levels right now. our yen should trade at a tight range ahead of the u.s. job numbers later. 78.13-21 right now. the euro did lose a little ground against both the dollar and currently the yen following the ecb meeting. some hope is began after a lack of action by the ecb pretty

and 765 for the topix. the nikkei actually snapped three days of gains yesterday. a little profit taking we saw in key exporters after we saw the yen gain just a touch yesterday. we'll see how it's faring later on. however, because of apples pending release of the new product lines we have been tracking a lot of components and parts makers here in japan such as the company which makes parts for the power supply circuits of the iphone and also foster electric which is a specialist maker of speaker parts for the ear phone. now, among others we'll also focus on mirata manufacturing, toshikazu, as well as tdk. >> and we've been tracking the euro this week in light of key meetings of eu leaders. where do we stand right now on the euro? >> euro of course is a big mover of the currency markets and very closely watched here in relation to the yen. let's have a look at the currency levels of course top of the screen there. dollar/yen $79.18 to 23. the dollar lost a little ground against the euro but stands relativel

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futures for government bond and topix stocks. tse technicians took 90 minutes to get operations back on line. they say the failure was in the new system installed last november. they're now looking into the problem. investors were forced to suspend trading in february when the tse database malfunctioned. >>> people who work in japan's tourism industry are always looking to lure visitors to this country. many tailor trips to specific groups. one business in osaka is trying to track some of the world's 1.6 billion strong muslim population. agents say the market can't be ignored. but for religious reasons, it also has to be accommodated in certain ways. >> reporter: this is the idea for muslim tours started. it's a travel agency in osaka with a staff of about 20. this tour guide is in charge of the new tours. islam has very strict precepts. muslims are not allowed to eat certain foods, such as pork, or drink alcohol. devout muslims also pray three times a day or more. by meeting this need, he has turned a challenge into a business o

though the topix did rise at close. some exporters had risen in previous trading sessions on the back of the weaker yen. as you said, apple shares are hitting a record high on speculation that tech giant may be releasing a new smart phone or tablet in the near future. a lot of focus on that sector as well. well keep track of related shares here in japan which make parts and components for apple product, such as manufacturing, as well as toshiba and tdk. just that list there, among many more. so that's going to be a major focus and we will keep track of those sectors as well. yuko? >> ramin, as we have been reporting, it is touch weaker, so where do we stand this morning. >> the weaker yen is the driving force in the gains. 79.34-38 yen. currently youro/yen 98.01-06. they may have more on wednesday if anything new is revealed but it also could move on housing data in the u.s. later this week. we might see a bit of trading in the range there. 79.34-38 right now. we have the german french and m coming up this week. it coul

both indices barely in the positive. 9,059 for the nikkei and 746 for the topix. the nikkei managed to close above the 9,000 level yesterday, which it has managed to do since the middle of august. however, concerns about slow growth in china as well as euro zone debt crisis and mixed signals in the u.s. economy have not really left very much room for japanese stocks here to move in either direction. no real clear signals and a little bit of worry there for investors. in fact, shares of machinery construction as well as commodity-related shares, shipping as well as auto shares all linked to china's economy have not really had a very good few sessions. in fact, the likes of komatsu have been down for seven straight sessions in a row, and a lot of other shares hitting year lows in the past few sessions. now measures by central bankers, of course is a big focus with the jackson hole, wyoming meeting kicking off on friday. interestingly the european central bank president mario dragge pulled out of the meeting, and the markets really trying to see or read into that spe

friday morning, and really following on from germany, france, and the u.s., and the nikkei and the topix there, lower, 9,066, down 1.2% for the nikkei. the nikkei, however, did end in the positive yesterday, but on pretty low volume. we'll see how volume is today. investors really waiting to see the outcome of that key meeting between german chancellor merkel and the greek prime minister samaras later today. lot of focus on the euro and greece, but there are also concerns about what the federal reserve may do with boosting growth for the u.s. and that also meant that the dow fell on thursday. now, a lot of focus on central bank moves, of course, with chinese, japanese, and u.s. central banks, all poised really to make any extra moves there to boost growth but in japan it's not only export growth, which is a concern, but also domestic growth, which we saw in the trade balance figures there, so that's another worry for investors. the yen, of course, coming up there on the screens, looking at some of the pairs there, the dollar/yen at the top of the screen, 78.57-59, and euro/yen 98.70-75.