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Tokyo stocks open lower after Saudi oil attacks
TOKYO, Sept 17, 2019 (BSS/AFP) – Tokyo stocks opened lower on Tuesday on
geopolitical concerns after crude prices surged following a weekend attack on
Saudi oil facilities.
The benchmark Nikkei 225 index was down 0.47 percent or 103.80 points at
21,884.49 in early trade, while the broader Topix index was down 0.49 percent
or 7.84 points at 1,602.03.
“There were falls on Wall Street because of concerns on surging oil prices
after attacks on Saudi oil facilities, but the margins of the falls are not
very big so the impact may be limited,” Hideyuki Ishiguro, senior strategist
at Daiwa Securities, said in a commentary.
“If similar attacks don’t continue, oil prices will likely stabilise,” he
said.
Investor focus will shift gradually to central bankers’ meetings this week,
with the US Federal Reserve holding a two-day meeting through Wednesday and
the Bank of Japan holding its meeting through Thursday, he said.
“After the ECB announced stimulus including quantitative easing, the market
focus is shifting from (central bank) rate policies to quantitative easing,”
he said.
If the Fed “mentions quantitative easing, that would be a boost to the
stock market,” he said.
The dollar fetched 108.06 yen in early Asian trade, against 108.10 yen in
New York.
On Wall Street, the Dow ended down 0.5 percent at 27,076.82.
BSS/AFP/SR/1725 HRS