Japanese shares edge lower as cautious traders watch Trump-Biden debate
30/09/2020 03:18
By Stanley White
TOKYO, Sept 30 (Reuters) - Japanese shares fell on
Wednesday, tracking overnight declines on Wall Street, as U.S.
President Donald Trump and Democrat Joe Biden traded barbs in a
testy debate that made most investors reluctant to take on risky
trades.
The Nikkei 225 Index .N225 fell 0.25% to 23,479.09 by 0142
GMT, with industrial and technology shares leading the decline
The broader Topix .TOPX was down 0.5% at 1,649.88.
Trading is likely to be subdued until the first debate
between Trump and Biden finishes because investors are trying to
gauge who is more likely to win the presidential election in
November. urn:newsml:reuters.com:*:nL1N2GQ0NQ
"Right now it looks like a an even split between Trump and
Biden, so it is difficult for the markets to move," said Ayako
Sera, a market strategist at Sumitomo Mitsui Trust Bank.
"I don't think many people are trading because everyone is
watching this debate. What people are most concerned about is
the fairness of the election and how it will be carried out."
The underperformers among the Topix 30 were Mitsubishi UFJ
Financial Group Inc 8306.T down 2.27%, followed Nippon
Telegraph and Telephone Corp 9432.T losing 2.24%.
The stocks that gained the most among the top 30 core Topix
names were wireless carrier NTT Docomo Inc 9437.T up 20.85%,
followed by drugs maker Daiichi Sankyo Co Ltd 4568.T rising
0.89%.
NTT Docomo shares surged for a second day after its parent
NTT launched a $40 billion bid to take the wireless carrier
private. urn:newsml:reuters.com:*:nL4N2GP38T
There were 66 advancers on the Nikkei index against 154
decliners.
The volume of shares traded on the Tokyo Stock Exchange's
main board .TOPX was 0.4 billion, compared to the average of
1.14 billion in the past 30 days.
(Reporting by Stanley White; Editing by Rashmi Aich)
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