Japan Nikkei strengthens 0.24%

Headline indices of the Japan share market closed mixed after trimming early losses on Tuesday, 16 April 2019, supported by the start of trade talks with the United States and Bank of Japan Governor Haruhiko Kuroda vowed to patiently continue the central bank's powerful monetary easing. Total 25 issues out of 33 subsectors of the Tokyo Stock Exchange declined, with shares in Pulp & Paper, Mining, Electric Power & Gas, Oil & Coal Products, and Wholesale Trade issues being notable losers, whereas Information & Communication, Other Financial Business, and Construction issues were notable gainers. At closing bell, the 225-issue Nikkei Stock Average inclined 52.55 points, or 0.24%, at 22,221.66. The broader Topix index of all First Section issues on the Tokyo Stock Exchange fell 1.47 points, or 0.09%, at 1,626.46.

Tokyo stocks opened lower on Tuesday, with investors turning cautious after modest drops on Wall Street. Wall Street stocks ended modestly lower on Monday following mixed results from large banks ahead of other earnings reports and economic data. Local market recouped most of intraday losses, supported by the start of trade talks with the United States. Earlier in the day, Bank of Japan Governor Haruhiko Kuroda said, some sort of protectionism around global trade was the most serious risk involved in the global economy. Furthermore, on Tuesday, Kuroda vowed to patiently continue the central bank's powerful monetary easing as it was taking longer than previously thought to accelerate inflation to its 2% target.

 

Bank of Japan Governor Haruhiko Kuroda said some sort of protectionism around global trade was the most serious risk involved in the global economy. Kuroda's comments come as the U.S and Japan kicked off trade talks in Washington on Monday. U.S. President Donald Trump has made it clear he is unhappy with Japan's $69 billion trade surplus with the United States and wants a two-way agreement to address it.

NTT Docomo jumped 3.6% after the nation's top mobile operator said it would cut data fees by 40%. Other major carriers were also up, with KDDI Corp surged 5.9% and SoftBank Corp advanced 3.1%. Japan's big three telcos, which have a combined market cap of about 20 trillion yen ($178.7 billion), have been under government pressure to reduce carrier fees to help stimulate consumer spending in other parts of the economy.

Retailers were particularly weak, amid worries about the planned consumption tax hike in October, with Seven&i slipping 1.2% to five-year lows.

CURRENCY NEWS: The Japanese yen depreciated around the 112 against the dollar on Tuesday. The dollar was quoted 111.95-96 yen compared with 111.99-112.09 yen in New York, and 111.91-92 yen on Monday in Tokyo.

Powered by Capital Market - Live News