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Tokyo stocks close down on profit-taking
TOKYO, April 18, 2019 (BSS/AFP) – Tokyo stocks closed lower Thursday on
profit-taking following a five-day winning streak, with concerns over North
Korea’s test-firing of a new tactical weapon harming market sentiment.
The benchmark Nikkei 225 index fell 0.84 percent, or 187.85 points, to
22,090.12 while the broader Topix index dropped 0.96 percent, or 15.71
points, to 1,614.97.
Tokyo shares opened higher but lost ground gradually as investors cashed
in on recent gains, brokers said.
Daiwa Securities chief technical analyst Eiji Kinouchi also said: “North
Korea’s test weighed on market sentiment.”
North Korea’s Kim Jong Un has supervised the test-firing of a new tactical
weapon with a “powerful warhead”, state media reported Thursday, in the first
test of its kind since nuclear negotiations with Washington stalled.
The test marks a ratcheting up of tensions weeks after a summit between
Kim and US President Donald Trump collapsed without agreement.
“Domestic investors refrained from trading actively, adjusting their
positions” ahead of Japan’s unprecedented 10-day holiday starting in late
April, Kinouchi told AFP.
The dollar fetched 111.88 yen in Asian afternoon trade, down from 112.09
yen in New York.
Sony, which will announce full-year results next week, lost 1.19 percent
to 5,299 yen with Nintendo down 1.37 percent at 34,350 yen.
SoftBank plunged 2.16 percent to 11,535 yen on profit-taking.
Banks were mixed as Mitsubishi UFJ Financial was down 0.55 percent at
569.9 yen but Sumitomo Mitsui Financial rose 0.61 percent to 4,078 yen.
BSS/AFP/HR/1335