Shares of major automakers in Asia closed mostly lower Monday as the industry continued to reel from news that the world's largest carmaker had posted its first-ever annual loss, with more losses expected.
The Nikkei 225 Stock Average added 19.15 points, or 0.2%, to 9,451.98.
The Hang Seng Index in Hong Kong slid 301.92 points to begin the week, or 1.7%, to 17,087.95
Toyota Motor Corp. reported Friday a $7.7-billion U.S. quarterly loss and forecast another loss for the current fiscal year.
Toyota had already warned it would report a full-year loss, which Silver said was the first since it became a public company in 1950.
However, the warning issued in February had called for a net loss of 350 billion yen ($3.6 billion U.S.). The actual result was a larger loss of 437 billion yen. A year earlier, Toyota saw a net profit of 1.72 trillion yen.
By the end of Monday's trading session, shares of Toyota fell by 4.8%.
Other automakers also finished lower, with Honda Motor Co. falling 1.7%, Nissan Motors shares down 2.1%, and Mazda Motor Corp. losing 2.3% in Tokyo. In Seoul, shares of Hyundai Motor Co. fell by 0.9%.
Nissan and Mazda are scheduled to report their financial results on Tuesday.
Isuzu Motors saw its stock close 0.5% higher in Tokyo. After trading ended Monday, the carmaker reported a net loss of 26.9 billion yen, wider than the net loss of 15.85 billion yen it was expecting. A year ago, it saw net income of 76.0 billion yen.
Kia Motors Corp. also managed to climb 7.1% in Seoul, and shares of mainland China's Dongfeng Motor Group closed 6.1% higher.
Toyota's rivals have, of course, been taking similar hits. Ford Motor Co. in April saw its U.S. vehicle sales drop by 32%, but it still outsold Toyota for the first time in at least a year, according to a note from analysts at Canaccord Adams released on May 4.
The Japan Automobile Importers Association reported that sales of imported motor vehicles in Japan, including those made by Japanese carmakers overseas, dropped for a 12th month in a row, down 30.5% from a year earlier to 11,348 units in April, according to a Kyodo News report on the data.
And many companies have been hurt by the strength in the Japanese yen. Honda, for example, cited the recently strong yen as a major reason for the 77% drop in its fiscal-year income.
In Asian trade Monday, one U.S. dollar bought 98.51 yen, down from 98.93 yen on Friday.
But despite the sales and currency headwinds, Wall Street Strategies' Silver is still bullish, reiterating his recommendation to buy Toyota stock regardless of the expected loss for the current fiscal year.
Chrysler LLC fell into bankruptcy in late April and last week said it expects billions of dollars in losses in the coming years.
On Thursday, U.S.-based General Motors Corp. said it lost $6 billion as revenue was cut almost in half.
Elsewhere:
China’s Shanghai 300 Composite Index gave back 63.90 points, or 2.3%, to 2,725.32
Singapore’s Straits Times Index eased 72.11 points, or 3.2% to 2,166.10
South Korea’s Kospi index picked up 3.03 points, or 0.2% to 1,415.16
Taiwan’s Taiex index added 63.63 points, or 1% to 6,647.50
New Zealand’s NZX 50 Index backpedaled 43.92 points, or 1.5%, to 2,829.22.
Australia’s S&P/ASX 200 lost 15.70 points, or 0.4% to 3,926
