Tokyo stocks fall as Toshiba dives

Tokyo stocks closed lower Tuesday as a pick-up in the yen hurt exporters, while money-losing Toshiba plunged after delaying the release of its latest financial results. Japan's currency - widely seen as a safe investment - rose as US President Donald Trump's national security adviser Michael Flynn stepped down.
His resignation was linked to controversy over his contacts with the Russian government, a stunning first departure from the new president's inner circle less than a month after his inauguration. Concern over the new US administration overshadowed investors' optimism that infrastructure spending and tax cuts under the Trump administration would pump up the world's top economy. "The news dampens slightly the expectations for a smooth implementation of various policies (of the Trump administration)," Minori Uchida, head of global market research at Bank of Tokyo-Mitsubishi UFJ told Bloomberg News.
The dollar weakened to 113.31 yen from 113.77 yen in New York. A strong yen is a negative for Japanese exporters as it reduces their repatriated profits. But Uchida said the dollar-yen rate was unlikely to lose more ground. "Market expectations on Trump are about his economic policies, and while Flynn's post is significant, it isn't directly related," he added. Tokyo's benchmark Nikkei 225 index fell 1.13 percent, or 220.17 points, to end the day at 19,238.98 and the broader Topix index of all first-section issues slipped 0.97 percent, or 15.08 points, to 1,539.12.
Investors are now waiting for Congressional testimony by Federal Reserve chair Janet Yellen later Tuesday. Toshiba dropped 8.0 percent to 229.8 yen after the conglomerate delayed the release of financial results expected to include billions of dollars in losses from its ailing US nuclear power unit.
The release, originally set for midday Tuesday, could be delayed by a month. Market heavyweight Fanuc, a factory robot maker, fell 1.87 percent to 22,280 yen, while mobile carrier SoftBank lost 1.43 percent to end at 8,535 yen. Panasonic fell 0.56 percent to 1,235.5 yen but troubled airbag maker Takata rose 2.39 percent to 555 yen.