Japanese Shares Slip as General Election Looms
The Nikkei 225 Index fell 0.3% to below 38,900 while the broader Topix Index lost 0.15% to 2,685 on Monday, hitting their lowest levels in over two weeks amid political uncertainty in the lead up to Japan’s general election this weekend.
A slight rebound in the yen also pressured local equities, as last week’s slide to 150 per dollar prompted fresh verbal interventions from Japanese authorities.
Meanwhile, hopes for strong earnings growth as the earnings season ramps up this week provided some support. Bank stocks led the decline, with losses from Mitsubishi UFJ (-1.4%), Sumitomo Mitsui (-1.6%) and Mizuho Financial (-0.5%).
Other index heavyweights also slumped, including Mitsubishi Heavy Industries (-1.3%), IHI Corp (-1.3%) and Japan Tobacco (-2.5%). Meanwhile, technology stocks mostly advanced following similar moves on Wall Street, with gains from Disco (1.5%), Advantest (2.2%) and Rakuten Group (2.8%).(Cay)
Source: Trading economi
