TOKYO, Feb 4 — Stocks fell in Tokyo, with the benchmark Topix index close to erasing its gains from the Bank of Japan’s latest stimulus, as exporters declined after the yen jumped against the dollar.
The Topix lost 0.9 per cent to 1,394.05 as of 9:10am in the Japanese capital after tumbling 3.2 per cent yesterday.
The measure briefly dropped below its closing level on January 28, the day before the central bank surprised investors by saying it would adopt negative interest rates.
The Nikkei 225 Stock Average slipped 0.6 per cent to 17,079.75 today.
The yen traded at 118.04 per dollar after strengthening 1.7 per cent yesterday, the most since August, as weak US services data fueled anxiety America’s economy isn’t immune to weakness elsewhere.
“The dollar-yen has gone back to where it was before the Bank of Japan’s additional easing,” said Mitsushige Akino, executive officer at Ichiyoshi Asset Management Co. in Tokyo.
“If the US non-manufacturing sector is doing poorly, it’s possible that the American economy will stagnate. It’s possible that the US jobs data coming out this week will be below expectations.”
E-mini futures on the Standard & Poor’s 500 Index were little changed.
The underlying equity gauge rose 0.5 per cent yesterday, advancing for the first time in three days, as commodity producers rallied with crude oil.
A report showed US service industries expanded in January at the slowest pace in almost two years, raising the risk that persistent weakness in manufacturing is starting to spread to the rest of the US economy.
The services slowdown comes as investors are on guard for signs that weakness in China is spilling over. — Bloomberg
