Tokyo stocks fell for a seventh consecutive session on Tuesday, extending losses on global markets as the US-China trade war escalated. The benchmark Nikkei 225 index lost 0.59 percent, or 124.05 points, to close at 21,067.23, while the broader Topix index was down 0.40 percent, or 6.16 points, at 1,534.98.
Tokyo shares opened sharply lower, taking a negative lead from Wall Street, brokers said. The Dow dropped 2.4 percent on Monday after Beijing said it would raise tariffs on $60 billion worth of US goods from June 1, in retaliation for the latest round of US tariff hikes and Washington's plans to target almost all Chinese imports. Investors are "worried that the intensifying trade war will have a negative impact on the global economy," Yoshihiro Ito, chief strategist at Okasan Online Securities, said in a commentary. But the market recovered some of its early losses on hopes for a meeting between US President Donald Trump and Chinese President Xi Jinping next month at the Group of 20 summit in Japan.
"Since selling pressure has recently been too heavy, investors are trying to buy back shares now," Toshikazu Horiuchi, a broker at IwaiCosmo Securities Co. Ltd, told AFP. The dollar traded at 109.62 yen in Asian afternoon trade, up from 109.30 yen in New York on Monday.
In Tokyo, China-linked shares were mixed as electronic parts maker Rohm fell 0.69 percent to 7,170 yen but industrial robot manufacturer Fanuc trading rose 0.07 percent to 19,060 yen, with Sharp up 0.28 percent at 1,051 yen. SoftBank Group plummeted 5.43 percent to 9,995 yen as Uber continued to slide after a disappointing IPO. SoftBank Group has a 16 percent stake in the ride-hailing firm. Uniqlo-operator Fast Retailing lost 0.46 percent to 64,110 yen after it said hackers may have gained access to the personal information of some 461,000 users of its Japanese online shopping sites.
Comments
Comments are closed.