TOKYO, July 7 ― Tokyo stocks opened lower today after three straight days in positive territory as investors cashed in on recent gains, with a lack of fresh buying incentives.
The key Nikkei 225 index fell 73.22 points, or 0.32 per cent, to 22,641.22 in early trade while the broader Topix index was down 4.90 points or 0.31 per cent at 1,572.25.
“The rise in Japanese stocks is likely to take a breather as investors take profits after three days of gains,” Yoshihiro Ito, chief strategist at Okasan Online Securities, said in a note.
Global stock markets rallied again yesterday, with fresh signs of an economic recovery resonating with investors more than a surge in coronavirus infections worldwide.
But “there has been nothing to cheer in the latest Covid-19 news, not that that has any bearing on the performance of risk assets at the moment,” noted Ray Attrill, strategist at National Australia Bank.
A survey released by Japan's internal affairs ministry early today showed May household spending in the world's third largest economy fell 16.2 per cent from a year earlier, logging the worst drop since comparable data collection began in 2000.
The data hardly moved the yen, with the dollar trading at ¥107.30 (RM4.27) in early Tokyo trade compared with ¥107.39 in New York yesterday afternoon.
In individual stocks trade, IT investor SoftBank Group climbed 3.34 per cent to ¥6,116.
Toyota was down 0.84 per cent at ¥6,801 while Nintendo gained 2.24 per cent to ¥51,560. ― AFP
