Nikkei Flat, Volatility Explodes – What's Going On Behind the Scenes?
Japanese stocks closed slightly lower on Tuesday, with the Nikkei 225 index down just 0.01%. The main pressure came from the Paper & Pulp, Transportation, and Communications sectors, which tended to weaken. Although the index appeared sluggish, the market was actually quite lively under the surface: the number of declining stocks far outnumbered the advancing ones, at 2,535 to 1,035, while the remaining 256 stocks remained unchanged.
On the other hand, several leading stocks still stole the show. Nippon Electric Glass Co., Ltd. surged nearly 10% to 6,335.00, hitting a five-year high. NGK Insulators, Ltd. also rose 7.20% to 3,291.00, another five-year high, while Fanuc Corp. rallied 6.51% to 5,366.00, hitting a three-year high. In contrast, stocks such as Tokyo Electric Power Co., Isetan Mitsukoshi Holdings, and Sumitomo Dainippon Pharma plummeted by more than 5%, demonstrating a sharp contrast between winners and losers on the stock market today. The Nikkei's volatility also rose nearly 9% to 30.08, indicating growing market anxiety.
In terms of commodities and currencies, the price of WTI crude oil for January edged up 0.29% to around $59.49 per barrel, while Brent crude for February rose 0.17% to $63.28 per barrel. Gold futures for February fell 0.74% to $4,243.25 per troy ounce. In the currency market, the US dollar strengthened against the yen, with USD/JPY rising to 155.77, while EUR/JPY rose to 180.87. The US Dollar Index futures were virtually unchanged, falling slightly by 0.01% to 99.36, indicating market participants remain cautious regarding the dollar's direction and global risk sentiment. (az)
Source: Newsmaker.id
