Japan Nikkei falls on global economic growth, US-China trade talks woes

Headline indices of the Japan share market declined on Friday, 08 February 2019,as risk sentiments turned downbeat amid renewed concerns about a U.S.-China trade deal after a report that President Donald Trump and Chinese President Xi Jinping are "highly unlikely" to meet before a 1st March deadline. Worries about the global economy also weighed on the markets after the European Commission lowered its eurozone growth forecast. Total 32 sub-indexes out of 33 sub-indexes of TOPIX were down, with shares in Textiles & Apparels, Marine Transportation, Machinery, Nonferrous Metals, Metal Products, and Mining issues being notable losers. Around late afternoon, the 225-issue Nikkei index tumbled 362.90 points, or 1.75%, at 20,388.38. The broader Topix index of all First Section issues on the Tokyo Stock Exchange dropped 28.36 points, or 1.81%, to 1,540.67.

Global markets provided local equities with a weak lead overnight due to a lack of progress on the US-China trade negotiation front and fears of a global slowdown. According to President Trump, a meeting with Chinese President Xi is unlikely to occur before 1 March (the self-imposed deadline for a trade deal). White House economic advisor Larry Kudlow told Fox news that there is a long way to go in the trade talks.

Investor confidence dented as it became clear that a trade meeting between President Donald Trump and Chinese President Xi Jinping would not happen before a key March deadline. White House economic advisor Larry Kudlow said earlier on Thursday that China and the U.S. were still far away on striking a trade deal. China and the U.S. have until the start of March to strike a trade deal. Otherwise, additional tariffs on Chinese goods take effect. As a deadline approaches for a high-stakes trade deal between the U.S. and China, some top American business figures who fear the economic and market consequences of a failure are pushing both sides to compromise.

ECONOMIC NEWS: Japan posted a current account surplus of 452.8 billion Yen in December, Government sources said. The country had a goods trade surplus of 216.2 billion yen and a services trade deficit of 114.2 billion yen, according to a preliminary report released by the Finance Ministry.

CURRENCY NEWS: Japanese yen was tad appreciated against greenback on Friday, as investors fretted about a broadening global economic slowdown. The yen tends to attract demand in times of political tensions and market volatility due to its perceived safe-haven status. The dollar was little changed at 109.820 yen, nudged off a high of 110.09 reached the previous day.

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