ZCZC
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STOCKS-MARKETS-JAPAN
Tokyo stocks open flat as investors await US-China summit
TOKYO, Nov 30, 2018 (BSS/AFP) – Tokyo stocks opened flat on Friday as
investors took wait-and-see attitudes ahead of a US-China summit during the
G20 this weekend.
The benchmark Nikkei 225 index was down just 0.01 percent or 2.19 points at
22,260.41 in early trade, while the broader Topix index was up 0.08 percent
or 1.38 points at 1,660.85.
“As investors step aside to wait for the US-China summit, today’s focus
will be whether the Nikkei index can rebound” to around 22,300, Toshiyuki
Kanayama, senior market analyst at Monex, said in a commentary.
Japan’s factory output in October was up 2.9 percent from the previous
month, after a 0.4 percent dip in September, official data showed before the
opening bell, but it had little impact on stocks or currency markets.
Separate government data confirmed the Japanese labour market continues to
be tight, with the jobless rate in October at 2.4 percent, up slightly from
2.3 percent in the previous month.
The jobs-to-applicants ratio improved slightly to 1.62, meaning 100 jobs
are available for every 162 job seekers.
The dollar fetched 113.38 yen in Asian trade, against 113.42 yen in New
York and 113.30 yen on late Thursday.
Nissan was almost unchanged in early trade, up 0.07 percent at 985.4 yen
after a meeting of executives from the Renault-Nissan-Mitsubishi alliance
confirmed the stability of the partnership.
Mitsubishi Motors was up 0.43 percent at 695 yen.
Their rivals were higher, with Toyota up 1.26 percent at 6,981 yen and
Honda gaining 1.90 percent to 3,202 yen.
Steelmakers were lower after brokerage firms revised down their
evaluations, with JFE off 2.61 percent at 1,993.5 yen and Nippon Steel &
Sumitomo Metal down 1.06 percent at 2,050 yen.
On Wall Street, the Dow ended down 0.1 percent at 25,338.84.
BSS/AFP/HR/0920