ZCZC
BCN-29
STOCKS-JAPAN-CLOSE-MARKETS
Tokyo stocks close lower ahead of 10-day holiday
TOKYO, April 26, 2019 (BSS/AFP) – Tokyo stocks closed lower Friday amid
investor caution ahead of an unprecedented 10 days of holidays beginning this
weekend, with a stronger yen against the dollar also weighing on the market.
The benchmark Nikkei 225 index lost 0.22 percent, or 48.85 points, to end
at 22,258.73, while the broader Topix index was off 0.15 percent, or 2.35
points, at 1,617.93.
“A strong yen depressed market sentiment while investors were adjusting
their positions ahead of the long holidays,” said Daiwa Securities chief
technical analyst Eiji Kinouchi.
Japanese investors were mindful of fears of a repeat of the flash crash
seen during Tokyo’s New Year holidays, which temporarily boosted the yen
against the dollar.
“We think the length of this holiday is an actual risk,” Kinouchi told
AFP.
“But the chances of a repeat appear lower as investors are well prepared
after experiencing the January flash crash,” he added.
The dollar traded at 111.67 yen in Asian afternoon trade, slightly up from
111.61 yen in New York but still down from 112 yen levels seen earlier this
week.
Investors were also closely watching corporate earnings reports, analysts
said.
In Tokyo, Nintendo was down 1.32 percent to 38,000 yen following two
pieces of major news about the company.
Late Thursday, it unveiled its latest earnings results, showing its full-
year profit jumping nearly 40 percent year-on-year to 194 billion yen ($1.7
billion).
And on Friday, it said was working with Chinese internet giant Tencent to
roll out its popular Switch console in China.
Even though the latter “is definitely positive news,” the shares are down
“because people wanted to square positions before the holidays,” Hideki
Yasuda, an analyst at Ace Research Institute told AFP.
Elsewhere, chip-testing equipment maker Advantest dived 8.85 percent to
3,140 yen after it said its full-year operating profit for the year to March
2020 will drop 53.6 percent to 30 billion yen.
Sony was down 0.85 percent at 5,212 yen. Following the closing bell, Sony
said its net profit rose to record highs for the second consecutive year.
Investors mainly shrugged off a series of official data released before
the opening bell.
Japan’s industrial output in March fell 0.9 percent month-on-month after a
0.7-percent rise the previous month, the industry ministry said.
Other data confirmed Japan’s labour market remains tight, with the
unemployment rate edging up by 0.2 percentage points to 2.5 percent but the
job offers-to-applicants ratio unchanged at 1.63 — meaning 163 jobs are
available for every 100 job seekers.
BSS/AFP/HR/1410