Japanese Stocks Fall for First Time in Three Days; Eisai Slumps on Study

Bloomberg Jan 26--Japanese stocks fell for the first time in three days as a drop in oil and metal prices dragged down commodity companies, and drugmakers plunged.

Mitsubishi Corp., Japan’s biggest commodity trader, lost 1 percent. Eisai dropped 4.7 percent after the company said its experimental drug to treat severe sepsis failed to save more lives than a placebo in a final-stage study. At least four brokerages cut their investment ratings. Mitsubishi Tanabe Pharma Corp. sank 4 percent after the Asahi newspaper said the drugmaker sold injection drugs without properly testing them.

The Nikkei 225 Stock Average fell 0.5 percent to 10,416.44 as of 9:04 a.m. in Tokyo. The broader Topix index lost 0.3 percent to 926.12, following a 2 percent increase in the past two days, its biggest two-day gain since November. Almost twice as many shares declined as gained today.

“After two days of advances, investors may sell stocks to lock into profit,” said Hiroichi Nishi, an equities manager in Tokyo at Nikko Cordial Securities Inc.

The Topix gained 3.4 percent this year to yesterday, driving the average price of shares in the index to 16 times estimated earnings, near the highest level since August.

Crude oil for March delivery fell 1.9 percent yesterday to $86.19 a barrel in New York, the lowest settlement since Nov. 30, on signs that the economies of the U.S. and the U.K. are struggling to recover. Also yesterday, gold futures for February delivery fell 0.9 percent to the lowest level in almost three months, and the London Metal Exchange Index of six metals including copper and aluminum slumped 2.5 percent, the biggest drop since Nov. 16.