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Tokyo’s Nikkei opens higher after four-day losing streak
TOKYO, Aug 8, 2019 (BSS/AFP) – Tokyo’s key Nikkei index opened higher on
Thursday, as investors hunted for bargains after four days of losses driven
by concerns over trade tensions between the United States and China.
The Nikkei 225 index rose 0.30 percent or 61.87 points to 20,578.43 in
early trade while the broader Topix index inched higher by 0.04 percent or
0.59 points to 1,500.52.
The Nikkei had shed more than 1,000 points in its four-day losing streak
to Wednesday.
“Japanese stocks are now looking underpriced and likely to resist falls,”
Okasan Online chief strategist Yoshihiro Ito said in a note.
But investors were staying away from active buying with the safe-haven yen
remaining strong amid US-China trade tensions, raising worries about Japanese
exporters’ earnings.
The dollar was changing hands at 106.12 yen against 106.23 yen in New York
Wednesday afternoon.
Market heavyweight SoftBank Group rose on robust earnings, helping boost
the Nikkei index.
Shares in the IT investor gained 0.30 percent to 5,204 yen after it
announced its first-quarter net profit had more than tripled thanks to
exceptional gains related to the sale of shares in Chinese e-commerce giant
Alibaba.
Canon was down 0.48 percent at 2,851 yen and Panasonic was down 0.35
percent to 830.9 yen.
BSS/AFP/HR/1012