Tokyo: Tokyo’s benchmark Nikkei index lost more than 1.5 percent on Monday as investors cashed in on gains made last week, and with trading remaining thin ahead of US mid-term elections.
The Nikkei 225 index, which jumped 5.0 percent last week, fell 1.55 percent or 344.67 points to close at 21,898.99 while the broader Topix index was down 1.11 percent or 18.37 points at 1,640.39.
“Profit-taking spread in the market as players became cautious again” about the long-running US-China trade dispute, said Toshikazu Horiuchi, a broker at IwaiCosmo Securities.
On Friday, the Nikkei surged more than 2.5 percent after Donald Trump hailed positive talks with Chinese President Xi Jinping and a report said he had asked officials to draw up a draft bill as he eyes a potential trade deal between the two.
“Trading was thin as investors took to the sidelines ahead of the biggest market event of the week,” Horiuchi told AFP.
Investors were also cautious about ongoing corporate earnings reports.
“If there are no expectations for upward revisions in (full-year) earnings forecasts, foreign
investors in Tokyo stocks need an improvement in external factors such as a rise in US shares and
a cheaper yen,” said Tsuyoshi Nomaguchi, strategist at Daiwa Securities.
The dollar fetched 113.27 yen in Asian trade, against 113.28 yen in New York on Friday.
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Source: Brecorder
