Japan’s Stocks Fall as Tariff Uncertainty Weighs on Exporters
Japan’s stocks fell as the looming threat of US tariffs and uncertainty over an upper house election weighed on exporters.
The Topix was slightly lower at 2,818.53 as of 9:04 a.m. Tokyo time
The Nikkei declined 0.3% to 39,535.93
“With the upper house election approaching, interest rates and trade negotiations remain uncertain, and relative weakness is expected in sectors such as automobiles,” said Takashi Ito, senior strategist at Nomura Securities.
Adding additional pressure on exporters, the yen gained as much as 1.3% against the dollar overnight after a White House official said the President Donald Trump was likely to seek the Federal Reserve Chair’s ouster soon. Trump later played down the prospect of such a move.
Data this morning showed Japan’s exports fell for a second month as the US tariff campaign continued to weigh on trade, further raising the risk of a technical recession after the economy contracted at the start of the year.
Shares of Seven & i Holdings were suspended after Canada’s Alimentation Couche-Tard abandoned its bid to buy the company, saying the Japanese operator of 7-Eleven convenience stores had refused to engage meaningfully during the almost yearlong pursuit.
Out of 1,680 stocks in the index, 623 rose and 881 fell, while 176 were unchanged.
Source : Bloomberg
