Japanese stocks fell for a second day as the yen strengthened and energy companies led losses as crude oil slid to a four-year low.
Inpex Corp., Japan’s biggest oil explorer, dropped 2.2 percent. Yakult Honsha Co. plunged 5.5 percent after Paris-based Danone was said to be considering selling its 20 percent stake in the Japanese maker of fermented milk products. Honda Motor Co., which gets about 80 percent of its sales abroad, lost 2.2 percent. Tokyo Electron Ltd. jumped 3.2 percent after an analyst said Samsung Electronics Co. will drop objections with South Korean authorities against the Japanese company’s takeover by Applied Materials Inc.
The Topix (TPX) slipped 0.6 percent to 1,398.69 as of 12:31 p.m. in Tokyo, with all but four of its 33 industry groups declining. Volume on the measure was about 21 percent below the 30-day intraday average. The Nikkei 225 Stock Average dropped 0.3 percent to 17,324.82. The yen rose 0.2 percent to 117.54 per dollar, strengthening for a third day.
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