TOKYO: Tokyo stocks closed lower Wednesday with investor sentiment hurt by downbeat remarks from US President Donald Trump on planned talks with North Korea’s leader, and trade with China.
The benchmark Nikkei 225 index fell 1.18 percent or 270.60 points to close at 22,689.74 while the broader Topix index was down 0.68 percent or 12.26 points at 1,797.31.
Speaking to reporters at the White House where he hosted South Korean President Moon Jae-in, Trump cast doubt on the possibility that a June 12 summit with North Korean leader Kim Jong Un would go forward and also said he was “not satisfied” with the status of trade talks with Chinese.
“As concerns over the US-North summit and trade talks with China emerged, profit-taking dominated” the market, SBI Securities said in a commentary.
The dollar was trading at 110.50 yen against 110.91 yen in New York Tuesday afternoon.
Toyota, which rose in the morning session, closed down 1.22 percent at 7,435 yen, while its rival Nissan was down 0.48 percent at 1,138.5 yen.
Sony fell for the second straight day after it announced the purchase of music titan EMI Music Publishing, closing down 2.49 percent at 5,150 yen.
Banks lost ground, with Mitsubishi UFJ slipping 0.77 percent to 713 yen and Sumitomo Mitsui Financial edging 0.34 percent lower to 4,671 yen.
Source: Brecorder
