Japan Stocks Fall After Oil Jumps Most in a Month; Inpex Rises

By Makiko Kitamura and Masaki Kondo

July 11 (Bloomberg) -- Japanese stocks fell, headed for a fifth week of decline, on concern rising costs will crimp demand and earnings after crude prices rose the most in a month. Oil explorers gained for the first time in four days.

Toyota Motor Corp., Japan's largest carmaker, retreated 1.2 percent. Canon Inc., the world's biggest maker of digital cameras, declined 2.2 percent. Inpex Holdings Inc., Japan's biggest oil explorer, jumped 4.2 percent.

``Concern about corporate earnings and a slowing economy will weigh down stock prices,'' Soichiro Monji, chief strategist at Daiwa SB Investments Ltd., said in an interview with Bloomberg Television. ``In this situation, investors are reluctant to buy companies reliant on overseas demand.''

The Nikkei 225 Stock Average fell 29.41, or 0.2 percent, 13,037.80 as of 9:21 a.m. in Tokyo, set for a 1.5 percent drop this week, the fifth-straight decline. The broader Topix index sank 5.16, or 0.4 percent, to 1,285.60, headed for a 0.9 percent drop this week. About four stocks fell for every three that rose.

Crude oil for August delivery rose $5.60, or 4.1 percent, to settle at $141.65 a barrel at 2:53 p.m. on the New York Mercantile Exchange. Gold advanced to $942 an ounce, and copper gained to $3.755 a pound.

To contact the reporter for this story: Makiko Kitamura in Tokyo at mkitamura1@bloomberg.net; Masaki Kondo in Tokyo at mkondo3@bloomberg.net.