Japanese Stocks Fall After Bernanke Comments; Canon Declines

Japanese stocks fell for the first time in seven days on concern overseas earnings will be hurt after Federal Reserve Chairman Ben S. Bernanke said the U.S. economy faces “formidable headwinds.”

Canon Inc., the world’s largest camera maker and which earns more than 75 percent of its revenue from outside Japan, lost 0.8 percent. Toyota Motor Corp., the world’s biggest carmaker and which also generates 75 percent of sales overseas, dropped 0.8 percent. Mizuho Financial Group Inc., Japan’s third- biggest bank by market value, fell 1.2 percent.

“A lot of uncertainties surround the U.S. economic outlook,” said Fumiyuki Nakanishi, a strategist at Tokyo- based SMBC Friend Securities Co.

The Nikkei 225 Stock Average slipped 0.6 percent to 10,106.80 as of 9:09 a.m. in Tokyo. The broader Topix index lost 0.2 percent to 897.07, with about four stocks falling for three that rose.

The Topix gained 4.6 percent this year to yesterday, the lowest return among equity benchmarks in the world’s 40 largest stock markets, on concern a stronger yen will erode the value of overseas sales at Japanese companies and that the government will fail to revive economic growth. Stocks in the index trade at 37 times estimated earnings on average, compared with 20 at the start of 2009.

In New York, the Standard & Poor’s 500 Index lost 0.3 percent yesterday. Financial shares led the drop after Bernanke said the U.S. economy “confronts some formidable headwinds that seem likely to keep the pace of expansion moderate.”