TOKYO, July 16 — Tokyo shares closed lower today following a three-day weekend, as concerns over a strong yen erased buying sentiment backed by fresh records on Wall Street.
The benchmark Nikkei 225 index slipped 0.69 per cent, or 150.65 points, to 21,535.25, while the broader Topix index fell 0.48 per cent, or 7.57 points, to 1,568.74.
The yen’s relative rise made Tokyo players wary, offsetting positive factors led by new record highs in New York, analysts said.
The dollar stood at ¥107.95 (RM4.11), slightly up from ¥107.87 in New York yesterday but still down from ¥108.34 on Friday, before the long weekend in Japan.
“The yen is still at acceptable levels but a further gain wouldn’t be good,” said Daiwa Securities chief technical analyst Eiji Kinouchi.
Trading was sluggish as investors stayed on the sidelines ahead of the nation’s upper house election on Sunday, with Prime Minister Shinzo Abe’s ruling coalition forecast to secure a majority.
“A victory by the ruling coalition will be positive for the market,” Kinouchi told AFP.
Among major shares, exporters slumped.
Sony dropped 3.02 per cent to ¥5,866, while Nintendo edged down 0.09 per cent to ¥41,610.
Auto shares were mixed. Toyota rose 1.30 per cent to ¥7,000 but Nissan lost 0.16 per cent to ¥774.1, with Honda down 0.36 per cent at ¥2,836.5.
Mitsubishi Heavy Industries rose 0.48 per cent to ¥4,768 following news reports that South Korean plaintiffs who won a wartime labour compensation case against the firm would proceed with the sale of its assets in the country. — AFP
