Total 16 out of 47 Japan's 47 prefectures have been put under a quasi-emergency. Meanwhile, Osaka, Kyoto and Hyogo prefectures said on Thursday that they would request the central government to place them under a coronavirus quasi-state of emergency amid the rapid spread of the Omicron variant.
At closing bell, the 225-issue Nikkei Stock Average declined 250.67 points, or 0.9%, to 27,522.26. The broader Topix index of all First Section issues on the Tokyo Stock Exchange dropped 11.35 points, or 0.59%, to 1,927.18.
Shares of exporters declined on the yen's appreciation versus its major counterparts as overseas profits are lessened when repatriated and overall competitiveness deteriorates. Among export-oriented issues, Mazda Motor fell 4.2% to 903 yen, and Mitsubishi Motors fell 4.3% to 308 yen. Toyota Motor declined 2.4% to 2,287.0 yen, after the automaker has said it would halt operations at up to 11 factories in Japan for three days this month due to supply chain bottlenecks caused by the COVID-19 pandemic, as well as semiconductor shortages.
ECONOMIC NEWS: Japan Inflation Up 0.8% On Year In December- Japan's overall consumer prices climbed 0.8% on year in December, the Ministry of Internal Affairs and Communications said on Friday, up from 0.6% in November. Core CPI, which excludes volatile food prices, rose annual 0.5%. Individually, prices were up for food, housing, fuel, clothing, education and recreation; they were down for furniture, medical care and communications. On a seasonally adjusted monthly basis, overall inflation and core CPI both were up 0.1%.
CURRENCY NEWS: The Japanese yen traded at 113.84 per dollar, continuing to strengthen from levels above 114.
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