Japan Nikkei falls on profit booking

Japan stock market finished lower for the first time in four straight sessions on Tuesday, 12 October 2021, as market opted to secure recent profit on tracking a weaker finish on Wall Street overnight, with fears over higher U.S. interest rates and the soaring oil prices further dampened sentiments for market.

At closing bell, the 225-issue Nikkei Stock Average fell 267.59 points, or 0.94%, to 28,230.61. The broader Topix index of all First Section issues on the Tokyo Stock Exchange declined 13.90 points, or 0.7%, to 1,982.68.

Trading volume turnover on the main section stood at 1.13 billion shares worth 2.56 trillion yen, as compared yesterday's volume turnover of 1.19 billion shares worth 2.70 trillion yen.

 

Total 24 of 33 industry groups ended lower along with the Topix, with worst performing issues were Electric Power & Gas (down 2.5%), Air Transportation (down 2.1%), Retail Trade (down 1.9%), Land Transportation (down 1.5%), and Warehousing & Harbor Transportation Services (down 1.4%), while best performing sectors included Mining (up 1.6%), Oil & Coal Products (up 1.6%), Nonferrous Metals (up 1.5%), and Iron & Steel (up 1.4%).

Investors locked in gains on tracking the overnight decline in U.S. stocks and Soaring crude oil futures to seven-year high. Higher oil prices raised concerns about the possible expansion of Japan's trade deficit, as surging energy prices would lead to a sharp increase in the value of imports and increase the demand for U.S. dollars to purchase oil.

Shares of technology heavyweights declined, with SoftBank Group falling 2.42%, robot maker Fanuc losing 1.66% and medical equipment maker Terumo slipping 1.39%.

Exporters climbed up after the yen weakened against the U.S. dollar, with Toyota Motor climbing 0.78% and Honda Motor edging up 0.2%.

Energy related stocks climbed on soaring crude oil futures to seven-year high. Oil explorer Inpex increased 1.8% and Japan Petroleum Exploration rose 1.2%. Eneos Holdings advanced 1.4% after Japan's biggest refiner made a US$1.8 billion acquisition of solar power plant operator Japan Renewable Energy to expand its low-carbon business.

CURRENCY NEWS: The dollar rose past 113 yen in Tokyo trading on Tuesday, getting a boost from expectations for a wider Japan-U.S. interest rate gap. The Japanese yen traded at 113.28 per dollar, up from 112.79-79 yen on Monday.

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