Japanese Shares Track Wall Street Lower
The Nikkei 225 Index fell 0.4% to below 36,900 while the broader Topix Index lost 0.4% to 2.623 on Thursday, extending losses from the previous session and tracking another losing day on Wall Street amid a rocky start to September.
Investors also digested data showing real wages in Japan increased for the second straight month in July, reinforcing expectations that the Bank of Japan will raise interest rates again before the year ends. Moreover, domestic equities continued to experience pressure from a rallying yen which gained over 2% since Tuesday.
Notable declines were observed in index heavyweights like Tokyo Electron (-1.4%), Mitsubishi UFJ (-1.1%), Toyota Motor (-1.5%), Fast Retailing (-2.8%) and Renesas Electronics (-2.6%). In corporate news, Toyota Motor North America reported a 1.9% rise in sales volume for August.
Source: Trading economics