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Tokyo stocks close lower as US-Japan trade talks continue
TOKYO, Aug 10, 2018 (BSS/AFP) – Tokyo stocks closed lower on Friday as
investors held off on buying before holidays and awaited the outcome of US-
Japan trade talks.
The Nikkei 225 index fell 1.33 percent or 300.31 points to 22,298.08. Over
the week, the benchmark lost 1.01 percent.
The broader Topix index lost 1.15 percent or 20.00 points to 1,720.16,
after falling 1.29 percent over the week.
“On top of the US-China trade row, Japan-US trade negotiations are under
way in Washington, making investors cautious,” said Mutsumi Kagawa, chief
global strategist at Rakuten Securities.
After the first round of talks with US Trade Representative Robert
Lighthizer on Thursday, Japan’s economy minister Toshimitsu Motegi told
reporters: “I think we had good discussions and I’m not pessimistic in any
way.”
Motegi said he would announce the outcome after a second day of talks on
Friday.
Japan is hoping to win concessions on threatened US auto tariffs, which
could pose a threat to the industry if implemented.
“By taking auto tariffs hostage, Washington wants a bilateral free-trade
agreement while Tokyo wants a multilateral framework,” Kagawa at Rakuten
noted.
The dollar slipped to 110.94 yen from 111.09 yen in New York Thursday
afternoon.
The annual holiday season slowed trading and exacerbated the fall, said
Seiichi Suzuki, senior market analyst at Tokai Tokyo Research Centre.
“You can’t buy before you go on holidays… Today’s drop stemmed from
calendar reasons rather than breaking news,” he said.
Many market players will be away next week as Japan marks its annual
Buddhist holidays.
Japan’s solid growth data failed to boost the market.
“It is good that the economy rebounded from its negative growth in the
January-March term but it’s about a past quarter,” Kagawa at Rakuten said.
“Looking forward, the effect from trade frictions could cast a shadow.”
Official figures showed the world’s third-largest economy grew 0.5 percent
quarter-on-quarter in the April-June period, bouncing back to growth
following its first contraction in two years.
In individual stocks trade, Toyota ended down 0.55 percent at 6,951 yen
while Suzuki rallied 1.67 percent to 7,060 yen after sharp drops the previous
day over its admission of improper inspections on some vehicles.
Kyocera fell 2.63 percent to 6,653 yen as companies actively operating in
Europe fell due to the yen’s rise against the euro.
BSS/AFP/HR/1250