Bridgestone Share Rating Cut to “Sell”

Bloomberg is reporting that the slump in the car market and subsequent deflation in demand for car parts has led to shares in tyre manufacturers on the Tokyo Stock Exchange entering a slump. The decrease in prices has led to Goldman Sachs analysts to downgrade its rating of shares in the world’s largest tyre maker by sales, Bridgestone, from “buy” to “sell.”

Close of play on 15 January saw Bridgestone decline 4.2 per cent to 1,279 yen, while other large manufacturers Yokohama and Sumitomo decreased 7.9 and 6.6 per cent, to finish at 375 and 652 yen respectively. Both companies are also rated as “sell” by Goldman Sachs. Yuki Kimura, writing in his analyst report, said that manufacturers “will likely face increasing pressure to cut costs from carmakers, which are looking at deteriorating results.”