The Nikkei 225 Index fell 0.9% to below 39,300 while the broader Topix INdex lost 0.6% to 2,720 on Friday, with both benchmarks sliding for the third straight session and heading toward their second straight weekly drop. Investor sentiment turned cautious ahead of the US jobs report, which could influence the Federal Reserve's monetary policy outlook for the year. Global stocks also faced pressure on Thursday after the release of the latest Fed minutes, which pointed to a potential slowdown in the pace of policy easing due to ongoing concerns over inflation. Domestically, Japan's real...
Japanese stocks fell after the close on Friday, as losses in the Shipping, Electric Power and Insurance sectors led shares lower. At the close in Tokyo, the Nikkei 225 was down 1.04%. The best performers of the session on the Nikkei 225 were Advantest Corp. (TYO:6857), which rose 5.12% or 506.00 points to trade at 10,380.00 at the close. Meanwhile, Seven & i Holdings Co., Ltd. (TYO:3382) rose 4.86% or 115.50 points to close at 2,490.00 and Furukawa Electric Co., Ltd. (TYO:5801) gained 3.48% or 244.00 points to 7,259.00 in late trade. The worst performers on the session were Mitsui...
The Hang Seng fell 177 points, or 0.9%, to close at 19,064 on Friday, down for a fifth straight session and hitting its lowest in more than six weeks as sectors broadly lost ground. Nervous traders reacted to the People's Bank of China's decision to halt purchases of government bonds that sent yields soaring. Investors are cautiously awaiting China's December trade data, due later in the week. Exports grew less than expected in November, while imports unexpectedly shrank. Meanwhile, U.S. futures pointed to a weaker open on Wall Street, with traders preparing for the NFP data later in the...