TOKYO, Aug 17 ― Tokyo's benchmark Nikkei index erased early gains and closed down for a fourth consecutive session today on concerns over a surge in virus cases.
The Nikkei 225 index slid 0.36 per cent, or 98.72 points, to end at 27,424.47, while the broader Topix index fell 0.49 per cent, or 9.35 points, to 1,915.63.
“The growing number of cases due to the Delta variant has become a bearish factor,” Yoshihiro Ito, senior strategist at Okansan Online Securities, said in a note.
“As long as the number of new cases continues to rise to record highs, investors won't feel encouraged.”
Japan has seen nationwide daily coronavirus cases top 20,000 in recent days, driven by the highly infectious Delta variant.
The government is expected to extend a virus state of emergency in Tokyo and other regions and expand the measure to other areas later in the day.
The dollar fetched ¥109.30 (RM4.24) in Asian trade, against 109.23 in New York and ¥109.41 in Tokyo yesterday.
In Tokyo trading, market heavyweight SoftBank Group dropped 1.33 per cent to ¥6,418 while Uniqlo casual wear operator Fast Retailing dipped 0.09 per cent to ¥73,150.
Automakers were lower with Toyota sinking 0.61 per cent to ¥9,753, Honda losing 0.71 per cent to ¥3,493 and Nissan plunging 2.35 per cent to ¥579.5. ― AFP
