Japanese Stocks Decline on Record Oil Price, Writedown Concern

Japan's stocks fell after crude oil surged to a record and Wall Street firms reported owning more securities that are difficult to value, renewing concern financial companies will increase writedowns.

Sumitomo Trust & Banking Co., Japan's fifth-largest listed bank, slipped 1.6 percent, while Daiwa Securities Group Inc., the nation's second-largest brokerage, fell 1.9 percent.

There's growing concern Japanese companies will incur even bigger profit declines this business year because of rising material costs, Mitsushige Akino, who oversees the equivalent of $589 million at Ichiyoshi Investment Management Co. in Tokyo, said in an interview with Bloomberg Television.

The Nikkei 225 Stock Average declined 87.32, or 0.7 percent, to 13,024.57 as of 9:03 a.m. The broader Topix index fell 11.49, or 0.9 percent, to 1,251.41.

Crude oil surged 2.2 percent to a record $110.87 a barrel in New York trading yesterday after U.S. crude supplies unexpectedly dropped. U.S. brokerages including Goldman Sachs Group Inc. had more assets at the end of February whose market prices aren't readily available compared with the amount in November, according to filings.

Nikkei futures expiring in June retreated 0.8 percent to 13,020 in Osaka and slumped 1 percent to 13,015 in Singapore.