TOKYO: Tokyo shares ended lower on Thursday as renewed concerns over inflation and the Chinese economy overshadowed a boost to Japanese exporters from the weakening yen.
The benchmark Nikkei 225 index lost 0.92 percent, or 250.42 points, to end at 27,006.96, while the broader Topix index fell 0.51 percent, or 9.65 points, to 1,895.41.
The falling yen was nearing the psychologically important level of 150 against the dollar, with the greenback standing at 149.95 yen, against 149.88 yen in New York on Wednesday.
A weak yen is often seen as a positive factor for companies that sell products overseas, such as automakers.
But this was eclipsed by fresh concerns over inflation worldwide after the latest consumer price indexes both from Canada and the United Kingdom provided no relief to investors.
The figures “reinforced the view among investors that inflation is deepening globally and that monetary tightening will likely continue”, Toshikazu Horiuchi of IwaiCosmo Securities told AFP.
Desjardins analyst Royce Mendes predicted that persistent inflation “will have the Bank of Canada hiking rates further,” by as much as 50 to 75 basis points before the year’s end.
Japan’s Nikkei makes steady gains on boost from US earnings
Further contributing to the downwards momentum was a spike in coronavirus cases in China that has fuelled concerns about its economy, with leaders sticking to their zero-Covid strategy.
Beijing’s decision to delay the release of third-quarter growth data this week also contributed to unease among investors.
Uniqlo operator Fast Retailing slid 2.18 percent to 84,230 yen, while Sony Group was down 0.81 percent to 9,725 yen.
SoftBank Group, meanwhile, added 0.64 percent to 5,780 yen and Toyota gained 0.02 percent to 2,004 yen.
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