Tokyo stocks down

Tokyo stocks fell to a four-month low Tuesday after North Korea launched a missile over Japan that sent regional tensions soaring, with Prime Minister Shinzo Abe slamming it as an "unprecedented, serious and grave threat". The provocation was seen as a major escalation by the nuclear-armed North and Abe immediately denounced the test as he called for an emergency UN Security Council meeting.
Diplomats in New York later announced a gathering would take place later Tuesday. "Their outrageous act of firing a missile over our country is an unprecedented, serious and grave threat and greatly damages regional peace and security," Abe told reporters in Tokyo. Abe also said he and US President Donald Trump had agreed during a 40-minute phone call to ratchet up the pressure on North Korea.
Hitoshi Asaoka, strategist with Asset Management One, said the launch "could reignite concern over a possible military clash between the US and North Korea". "The market can't help it but see risk aversion strengthen. We have to look out for how the US will perceive the latest missile launch," he told Bloomberg News.
Tokyo's benchmark Nikkei 225 index fell 0.45 percent, or 87.35 points, to finish at 19,362.55, it lowest close since early May. The Topix index of all first-section issues was down 0.15 percent, or 2.36 points, to end at 1,597.76. Nervous investors rushed into the safe haven yen, which jumped to 108.70 against the dollar from 109.26 in New York.
Japan's currency is seen as a safe investment during times of turmoil, but a rise in its value hurts the profitability of the country's key exporters, denting demand for their shares. Official data released before markets opened Tuesday showed domestic spending in Japan was still feeble although the overall economy is picking up thanks partly to robust exports.
Household spending in July slipped 0.2 percent from a year earlier, reversing a 2.3 percent increase in June, the internal affairs ministry said, even as the unemployment rate remained at a decades low 2.8 percent in July. Another key employment gauge also showed Japan's jobs market was the tightest in more than 40 years.
In share trading, Toyota fell 0.58 percent to 6,090 yen and Honda slipped 0.16 percent to 3,040 yen. Bank Mitsubishi UFJ was down 0.19 percent at 656.3 yen while rival Sumitomo Mitsui Financial rose 0.04 percent to 4,030 yen. Uniqlo operator Fast Retailing, a market heavyweight, tumbled 1.94 percent to 30,800 yen.