Tokyo stocks fell from a three-month high Wednesday with exporters and banks hit by a stronger yen as another batch of weak US data dampened the chances of an imminent interest rate hike. The Institute for Supply Management on Tuesday revealed a sharp fall in activity the key US service sector - which accounts for more than 70 percent of the economy - to its lowest level in more than six years.
The news, which followed below-par readings on factory activity and jobs growth, all but wiped out any chance the Federal Reserve tighten borrowing costs this month. The dollar weakened to 101.37 yen in Tokyo, from 101.99 yen in New York and well down from the 103.60 yen seen earlier Tuesday in Asia.
By the close of trade the benchmark Nikkei 225 index was down 0.41 percent, or 69.54 points, at 17,012.44, while the broader Topix index of all first-section issues lost 0.23 percent, or 3.05 points, to end at 1,349.53. "We can't really ignore the fact that the ISM numbers were fairly poor," Kiyoshi Ishigane, chief strategist at Mitsubishi UFJ Kokusai Asset Management, told Bloomberg News.
"Stocks overseas are rising on the expectations of a delayed US rate hike, but in Japan the effects of the stronger yen mean that stocks can't avoid falling." Exporters dropped across the board with Panasonic down 1.59 percent at 1,049.5 yen and Toyota falling 0.82 percent to 6,184 yen. Banking giant Mitsubishi UFJ Financial Group dropped 2.80 percent to 551.3 yen while Sumitomo Mitsui Financial Group fell 1.83 percent to 3,648 yen. However, e-tailer Rakuten soared 7.20 percent to 1,429 yen on news it would join the Nikkei 225 index next month.
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