TOKYO, July 2 ― Tokyo's key Nikkei index opened slightly lower today on profit-taking after rallying more than two per cent in the previous session on news that the US and China had struck a trade war truce.
The benchmark Nikkei 225 index was down 0.05 per cent, or 11.65 points, at 21,718.32 in early trade, while the broader Topix index rose 0.11 per cent, or 1.77 points, at 1,586.62.
Japanese shares climbed to their highest levels since early May “as investors took heart from the US-China summit talks, but profit-taking is seen weighing on the market,” Okasan Online Securities' chief strategist Yoshihiro Ito said in a commentary.
The dollar fetched ¥108.39 (RM4.13) in early Asian trade, against ¥108.44.
Global stock markets rose yesterday after US President Donald Trump and Chinese counterpart Xi Jinping agreed on the sidelines of the weekend Group of 20 summit to resume trade negotiations towards a long-term deal.
After a knee-jerk reaction, “the market interpreted the news as showing the situation has merely returned to one from a few months ago,” and there remains a risk of a breakdown in negotiations, Ito noted.
In Tokyo, automakers were among the losers, with Toyota trading down 0.36 per cent at ¥6,849, Honda lower by 0.86 per cent at ¥2,820.5 and Nissan off 1.32 per cent at ¥779.1.
Electronics were mixed, with Panasonic down 0.29 per cent at ¥920.9 while Sharp was up 0.40 percent at ¥1,226.
On Wall Street, the Dow ended up 0.4 per cent at 26,717.43. ― AFP
