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STOCKS-JAPAN-OPEN
Tokyo stocks open lower with eyes on trade, central banks
TOKYO, June 17, 2019 (BSS/AFP) – Tokyo stocks opened fractionally lower on
Monday, tracking falls on Wall Street, with investors’ eyes on the US-China
trade war and key central bank meetings this week.
The benchmark Nikkei 225 index edged down 0.06 percent or 12.64 points to
21,104.25 in early trade, while the broader Topix index was down 0.24 percent
or 3.75 points at 1,542.96.
The US Trade Representative’s public hearings on President Donald Trump’s
plans to impose fresh tariffs on Chinese-made goods will start on Monday,
noted Tsuyoshi Nomaguchi, strategist at Daiwa Securities.
“It’s worth watching if there is any impact from the US-China trade war on
the Japanese trade statistics due on Wednesday,” he added.
Investors are closely watching the US Federal Reserve’s policy meeting
from Tuesday through Wednesday, and “if the Fed’s view on the economy is
hawkish enough to remove market expectations of a rate cut, that would send
stocks prices down,” Nomaguchi said.
The Bank of Japan’s two-day meeting through Thursday will be also
monitored as it may affect the dollar-yen rate, analysts said.
The dollar fetched 108.56 yen in early Asian trade, against 108.55 yen in
New York on Friday.
In Tokyo, chip-linked shares were lower after the US chip sector declined,
with chip-testing equipment maker Advantest dropping 4.64 percent to 2,848
yen and chip-making equipment manufacturer Tokyo Electron diving 4.06 percent
to 14,-35 yen.
Some electronics were among the losers, with Sharp trading down 2.80
percent at 1,051 yen and electronics parts maker Rohm off 1.60 percent at
6,730 yen.
On Wall Street, the Dow ended down 0.3 percent at 26,042.11.
BSS/AFP/HR/1000