Japan's Nikkei stumbles as yen gains, mixed US peers

Keyence

02/05/2024 07:44

(Updates with closing levels)
    By Brigid Riley
       TOKYO, May 2 (Reuters) - Japan's Nikkei share average
finished lower for a second consecutive day on Thursday, with
the yen's sudden appreciation and a mixed performance on Wall
Street dragging on sentiment.
    The Nikkei  .N225  seesawed in and out of positive territory
throughout the day but ended the day down 0.1% at 38,236.07. 
    Losses were relatively limited, however, as investors
avoided making big moves before the market entered a long
holiday weekend.
    The broader Topix  .TOPX  declined 0.03% to 2728.53.     
    The U.S. Federal Reserve met market expectations on
Wednesday, standing pat at the conclusion of its monetary policy
meeting. 
     The central bank flagged that recent disappointing
inflation readings could make rate cuts a while in coming, but
Fed chief Jerome Powell characterized the risk of more hikes as
"unlikely," giving some solace to markets.
    "Many investors were worried the Fed may hike (again) if
inflation continued to remain high, but Fed Chair Powell
suggested that the likelihood of further rate hikes is low, so I
think that was assuring," said Kenji Abe, an equities strategist
at Daiwa Securities.
    But any relief was largely overshadowed by a surge in the
yen in what traders suspect to be another round of intervention
by Tokyo following the Fed's meeting.  FRX/ 
        The Japanese currency's sharp rebound weighed on
export-related shares such as Toyota Motor  7203.T , down 0.7%,
and Honda Motor  7267.T , falling 0.3%, which tend to benefit
from a weaker yen. 
    At the same time, U.S. stocks were mixed overnight, with the
Philadelphia Semiconductor Index  .SOX  in particular taking a
hit after weak quarterly results from tech firms Advanced Micro
Devices  AMD.O  and Super Micro Computer  SMCI.O .  .N 
    The snag in the tech rally abroad capped gains by Japanese
shares in the sector. Chip-related share Tokyo Electron  8035.T 
was up 0.2%, while Advantest  6857.T  slid 0.7%. AI-focused
startup investor SoftBank Group  9984.T  rose a mere 0.05%. 
   
    

 (Reporting by Brigid Riley; Editing by Janane Venkatraman and
Sohini Goswami
)
 ((brigid.riley@thomsonreuters.com;))