TOKYO, June 21, 2019 (BSS/AFP) – Tokyo stocks opened lower on Friday as a
firmer yen overwhelmed positive sentiment from rallies on Wall Street.
The benchmark Nikkei 225 index was down 0.18 percent or 37.76 points at
21,425.10 in early trade, while the broader Topix index dropped 0.39 percent
or 6.07 points at 1,553.83.
Rallies in the US market are encouraging investors to buy, but “the focus
today is whether the market can fend off a higher yen”, Okasan Online
Securities said in a note.
A higher yen weighs on the stock price of exporters because it makes their
goods more expensive abroad.
“Hopes of US rate cuts and expectations of improvement in US-China trade
talks may support the downside, but worries over worsening of Japanese firms’
performance due to a higher yen and… profit-taking are weighing on the
market,” said Mizuho Securities.
The dollar fetched 107.24 yen in early Asian trade, down slightly from
107.27 yen in New York and from 107.56 yen in Tokyo on Thursday.
In Tokyo, banks were among the losers, with Mitsubishi UFJ Financial
trading down 0.35 percent at 505.4 yen and Sumitomo Mitsui Financial lower by
0.45 percent at 3,758 yen.
Pharmaceuticals were lower, with Daiichi Sankyo down 1.87 percent at 5,926
yen and Takeda Pharmaceutical off by 0.13 percent at 3,818 yen.
Oil-linked shares climbed amid rising US-Iran tensions, with crude and
natural gas developer Inpex jumping 4.67 percent to 1,001.5 yen and Japan
Petroleum Exploration soaring 4.58 percent to 2,526 yen.
Japan’s core consumer price inflation index, excluding fresh food, was up
0.8 percent year-on-year in May, according to data issued by the internal
affairs ministry just before the opening bell.
The reading, down 0.1 percentage point from the figure in April, was in
line with market expectation but far below the Bank of Japan’s two-percent
inflation target.
On Wall Street, the Dow ended up 0.9 percent at 26,753.17, while the S&P
closed up 1.0 percent at a fresh record at 2,954.18.