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JAPAN-TOKYO STOCKS-CLOSE-ROUNDUP
Tokyo stocks drop as rising COVID-19 cases in Europe dash sentiment
TOKYO, March 24,2021 (BSS/XINHUA)- Tokyo stocks closed sharply lower Wednesday, with the benchmark Nikkei stock index extending its losing streak to a fourth day, as rising COVID-19 cases in Europe sparked concerns over the global economic recovery.
The 225-issue Nikkei Stock Average dropped 590.40 points, or 2.04 percent, from Tuesday to close the day at 28,405.52.
The broader Topix index of all First Section issues on the Tokyo Stock Exchange, meanwhile, lost 42.90 points, or 2.18 percent, to finish at 1,928.58.
Tokyo stocks were under pressure from the get-go, with the Nikkei extending its losing streak to a fourth straight day, local brokers said.
They added that a combination of falling oil prices and rising coronavirus cases in Europe, which have led to lockdowns being extended in Germany, France and Italy, led to a risk-off mood and renewed concerns about the outlook for the global economic recovery.
“The lockdowns came despite continued vaccinations. So people’s concerns grew rapidly,” Masahiro Ichikawa, chief market strategist at Sumitomo Mitsui DS Asset Management Co., was quoted as saying.
“Optimism about the global economic outlook is now fading,” Ichikawa added.
Downbeat views of the near-term prospects for the global economy also sent oil and energy-oriented issuers lower, market strategists here highlighted.
“The decline in oil prices is a direct blow to the energy sector, but you can also see investors are selling shares that until recently were rallying very sharply,” Takashi Nishizawa, head of investment research at Nomura Securities, was quoted as saying.
“Investors are starting to realize that their optimism about the outlook was a little excessive,” he added.
By the close of play, all industrial categories retreated, with air transportation, mining and marine transportation issues comprising those that declined the most.
Among oil explorers losing ground, Nippon Steel dropped 5.1 percent, while Inpex fell 5.7 percent. Japan Petroleum Exploration, for its part, retreated 5.5 percent by the close.
Airlines came under pressure on concerns that rising coronavirus cases would impact travel as fears grow about a protracted global pandemic.
ANA Holdings plunged 7.2 percent, while Japan Airlines tumbled 7.8 percent.
Issues that fell outpaced those that rose by 2,026 to 139 on the First Section, while 28 ended the day unchanged.
On the main section on Wednesday, 1,591.35 million shares changed hands, rising from Tuesday’s volume of 1,371.29 million shares.
The turnover on the third trading day of the week came to 3,215.44 billion yen (29.58 billion U.S. dollars).
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