At closing bell, the 225-issue Nikkei Stock Average fell 55.68 points, or 0.19%, to 28,963.56. The broader Topix index of all First Section issues on the Tokyo Stock Exchange was up 1.80 points, or 0.09%, to 1,962.65.
Trading volume turnover in the 1st section decreased to 928 million shares from 945 million shares in previous session. Trading value turnover decreased to 2,186.44 billion yen from 2,191.03 billion yen in previous session.
Total 17 sectors of 33 sectors sub-indexes on the Tokyo exchange were higher, with Marine Transportation, Pharmaceutical, Electric Power & Gas, Air Transportation, Warehousing & Harbor Transportation Services, Land Transportation, and Textiles & Apparels sectors being notable gainers, while Pulp & Paper, Nonferrous Metals, Machinery, and Insurance issues were notable losers.
Shares of pharmaceutical companies advanced after the U.S. approval of the new drug Aduhelm for Alzheimer's disease developed by Japan's Eisai Co. and U.S. biotech giant Biogen Inc. Eisai surged 1,500 yen, or 19.4%, to a daily limit high of 9,251 yen. Drugmaker Taiko Pharmaceutical rose 0.9% to 1,068 yen, while drug venture firm Sosei Group increased 1.4% to 1,602 yen.
Shares of airlines and railway operators were also higher on expectations that Japan's accelerated vaccination program could spark travel demand in the near future. ANA Holdings ended up 1.4% at 2,807.00 yen, and Japan Airlines rose 1.8% to 2,644 yen. Odakyu Electric Railway was 1.6% up at 2,929 yen, while Central Japan Railway climbed 1% to 17,925 yen.
ECONOMIC NEWS: Japan GDP Shrinks 3.9% On Year In Q1- Japan's gross domestic product contracted by an annualized 3.9% on year in the first quarter of 2021, the Cabinet Office said in Tuesday's final reading, following the 11.7% surge in the three months prior. On a quarterly basis, GDP was down 1.0 following the 2.8% increase in the previous three months.
CURRENCY NEWS: The U.S. dollar index, which tracks the greenback against a basket of its peers, was at 90.158 following an earlier low of 89.955. The Japanese yen traded at 109.48 per dollar, stronger than levels above 110 seen against the greenback last week.
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