TOKYO, July 18, 2019 (BSS/AFP) – Tokyo stocks opened lower on Thursday,
extending falls in New York as the yen edged higher against the dollar,
weighing on exporters.
The benchmark Nikkei 225 index was down 0.62 percent or 132.64 points at
21,336.54 in early trade, while the broader Topix index was down 0.59 percent
or 9.31 points at 1,558.10.
A higher yen and falls on Wall Street are weighing on the Tokyo market,
while investors are “also increasingly taking a wait-and-see attitude ahead
of corporate earnings season from next week,” Mizuho Securities said in a
note to clients.
“Japanese shares are seen sold in early trade then likely to become mixed
without a sense of clear direction… after President Trump suggested (on
Tuesday) US-China trade talks would take longer” than expected, Mizuho added.
US Treasury yields have moved lower, sending the dollar weaker against its
major peers including the yen.
“While there is no single catalyst, weaker stocks overnight, lower oil
prices and ongoing concerns about the (US-China) trade spat are all
supportive factors,” Tapas Strickland, senior analyst at National Australia
Bank, said in a commentary.
The dollar fetched 107.88 yen in early Asian trade, against 108.11 yen in
New York on Wednesday.
In Tokyo, Canon was down 2.94 percent at 3,070 yen after the business
daily Nikkei reported it will revise down its full-year earnings forecasts
when it reports half year-to June earnings next week.
Other exporters were also lower, with Hitachi trading down 1.18 percent at
3,920 yen and Sharp down 2.68 percent at 1,378 yen.
Japan’s trade surplus dropped 19.0 percent year-on-year to 589.5 billion
yen ($5.46 billion) in June, as falls in exports — particularly ships and
auto parts — overwhelmed falls in imports, according to official data issued
10 minutes before the opening bell.
The country’s politically sensitive trade surplus with the US rose 13.5
percent to 669.9 billion yen chiefly due to a rise in exports of chip-making
equipment and automobiles, the finance ministry said.
On Wall Street, the Dow ended down 0.4 percent at 27,219.85.