Tokyo shares end lower in thin holiday trade

People wearing surgical masks walk past a screen showing Nikkei index outside a brokerage in Tokyo February 3, 2020. — Reuters pic

TOKYO, Dec 25 — Tokyo stocks ended nominally lower today after thin trade with overseas investors absent over the Christmas holidays.

The benchmark Nikkei 225 index fell 0.04 per cent, or 11.74 points, at 26,656.61, for a weekly loss of 0.40 per cent.

The broader Topix index edged up 0.23 per cent, or 4.14 points, to 1,778.41 for a weekly loss of 0.83 per cent.

“The market was in the state of ‘no selling in quiet times’,” Okasan Online Securities said, referring to a Tokyo market maxim cautioning traders to reject the impulse to dump shares during quiet moments and remain patient until the next opportunity arises.

“The range was so narrow that no one felt shares move,” the brokerage said in a note.

Overnight gains on Wall Street lifted the Tokyo market to open higher. The momentum however was short-lived, and investors searched for fresh news in sluggish trade.

Still, bargain hunting prevented a sharp fall of the market.

“The news that Britain and the EU reached a trade deal meant one fewer element of uncertainty, but investors did not see it as a major trading cue,” SMBC Nikko Securities added.

Former prime minister Shinzo Abe faced tough questioning in televised parliament sessions about a scandal involving payments to his supporters, but that did not move the market either.

The dollar stood at 103.56 yen, against 103.70 on Thursday in New York.

Shortly before the market opened, the government said Japan’s jobless rate was 2.9 per cent in November, improving from 3.1 per cent in the previous month.

Among major shares, SoftBank Group lost 3.15 per cent to 7,692 yen following reports that Chinese e-commerce giant Alibaba, for which the Japan-based internet titan serves as a major shareholder, was facing an anti-trust probe by Chinese authorities.

Shipping firms fared better.

Nippon Yusen surged 6.50 per cent to 2,392 yen, after the firm upgraded annual earnings outlook. Mitsui O.S.K. lines also roared 6.35 per cent to 3,150 yen.

Automakers also enjoyed gains. Toyota rose 0.59 per cent at 7,789 yen. Nissan trimmed early gains but still ended up 0.71 per cent at 555.2 yen.

But Sony lost 1.36 per cent to 9,953 yen. Nintendo travelled between positive and negative territory, and ended down 0.09 per cent at 64,670 yen. — AFP

Source: Malay Mail