Tokyo stocks lower on falling commodities prices

Tokyo equities markets were lower on Tuesday as investors worried that dropping commodities prices are signaling a slowdown in the global economy. The Nikkei 225 was 0.5 percent lower to 15,719.34, while the Topix index dropped 0.7 percent to 1,585.98. The Mothers Index of small and mid-caps fell even more sharply, declining by 2.9 percent to 1,272.58.

Commodities-dependent stocks were lower, with Sumitomo Metal Mining down 4.7 percent to ¥1,595 despite revising its full-year prediction higher, while Mitsubishi Materials dropped 4.9 percent to ¥481. In the oil sector, Inpex was 2.2 percent lower to ¥929,000.

New data showing machinery orders were lower than had been expected, released Monday, was still showing an effect as heavy machinery manufacturer Komatsu declined by 4.1 percent to ¥2,090.

Transport, however, saw gains on the session. Among shipping lines, Mitsui OSK Lines was 0.7 percent higher to ¥881. Nippon Yusen added 1.1 percent to ¥720, while smaller peer Kawasaki Kisen was up 1.2 percent to ¥754. Door to door delivery company Yamato Holdings and airline ANA each added 1.3 percent, to ¥1,813 and ¥479 respectively.

In the pharmaceuticals sector, Daiichi Sankyo added 3.9 percent to ¥3,210 on the news that as part of a plan to get rid of all non-core pharma businesses by early next year, it will sell two diagnostics units soon.

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