TOKYO: Tokyo stocks ended lower Wednesday, tracking falls on Wall Street, where concerns grew that the Federal Reserve will continue to push up interest rates to combat still-elevated inflation.
The benchmark Nikkei 225 index closed down 0.72 percent, or 199.47 points, at 27,686.40, while the broader Topix index fell 0.10 percent, or 1.91 points, to 1,948.31.
The dollar fetched 137.31 yen, against 137.04 yen in New York late Tuesday.
Wednesday’s losses tracked a sharp drop for all three main indexes on Wall Street, with the Dow off one percent and tech-rich Nasdaq losing two percent.
Data showing a forecast-busting jump in US services sector activity last month raised the prospect that the Fed will lift borrowing costs above five percent by next year to contain prices.
Japanese shares end higher as chip stocks, exporters gain
“The falls in the US market were caused by a growing view that rate increases might be maintained at a high level,” Makoto Sengoku, senior equity market analyst at Tokai Tokyo Securities, told AFP.
“This phenomenon is spilling over onto Japan’s stock markets”, he added.
SoftBank Group added 0.84 percent to 5,967 yen and Toyota gained 0.30 percent to 1,949.5 yen.
Sony Group was down 1.27 percent at 10,875 yen and Uniqlo operator Fast Retailing slid 1.89 percent to 83,980 yen.
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