Nikkei hobbled by absence of catalysts, Wall Street slump

Ajinomoto Co

01/03/2023 02:47

TOKYO, March 1 (Reuters) - Japan's Nikkei share average
was trading flat on Wednesday, tracking an overnight slump on
Wall Street, as investors refrained from making active bets in
the absence of any major market-moving catalysts. 
    At 0158 GMT, the Nikkei index  .N225  held its ground at
27,425.39. The broader Topix  .TOPX  was down 0.12% at 1,990.82.
    Overnight, the Dow Jones Industrial Average  .DJI  fell
0.71, the S&P 500  .SPX  lost 0.30% and the Nasdaq Composite
 .IXIC  dipped 0.1%. 
    Wall Street closed out February in subdued fashion with each
of the three major indexes ending with monthly losses, as
investors continue to assess whether U.S. interest rates will
remain high for an extended period of time.  .N 
    "Amid the absence of market-moving cues, investors held back
from buying stocks," said Shoichi Arisawa, general manager of
the investment research department at IwaiCosmo Securities.
    "At a time like this, they tend to sell outperforming stocks
to book profits."           
    In Japan, shipping firms  .ISHIP.T  fell 2.77% to become the
worst performer among the 33 industry sub-indexes on the Tokyo
Exchange, after posting a more than 9% gain so far this year. 
    Mitsui O.S.K. Lines  9104.T  and Nippon Yusen  9101.T  lost
2.95% and 2.83%, respectively. 
    The banking sector  .IBNKS.T , which has risen 9% so far
this year, slipped 0.64%.  
    Uniqlo brand owner Fast Retailing  9983.T  lost 0.45% and
drugmakers Daiichi Sankyo  4568.T  and Chugai Pharmaceutical
 4519.T  fell 2.31% and 1.92%, respectively. 
    Bucking the trend, shares of Ajinomoto  2802.T  jumped
10.43% after the processed food maker raised its annual profit
forecast and announced progressive dividend policy, providing
support to the benchmark index. 
    "Improvement on shareholder returns by companies with robust
earnings reflects in their stock prices immediately," Arisawa
said.
    The food and drink maker index  .IFOOD.T  rose 0.54%, with
Yakult Honsha  2267.T , the maker of Yakult drink, rising 0.54%.
    
    
    

 (Reporting by Junko Fujita; Editing by Sherry Jacob-Phillips)
 ((junko.fujita@thomsonreuters.com;))