Japan's Nikkei falls as Middle East tensions hurt risk appetite

RYOHIN KEIKAKU

16/10/2023 07:32

TOKYO, Oct 16 (Reuters) - Japan's Nikkei share average
declined over 2% on Monday, dragged by chip-related shares, with
risk appetite being hurt as tensions in the Middle East
escalated.
    The Nikkei index  .N225  fell 2.03% to close at 31,659.03.
The broader Topix  .TOPX  lost 1.53% to 2,273.54.
    "As risks for the Middle East rose, investors braced for
further declines in markets and cut their long positions in
stocks," said Takehiko Masuzawa, head of trading at Phillip
Securities Japan.
    The Nikkei 225 volatility index  .JNIV  jumped 4.67% to
21.90, its highest since Oct. 4, when the Nikkei lost 2.3% in
its biggest daily decline in two months
    On Friday, the S&P 500  .SPX  and the Nasdaq  .IXIC  fell as
deteriorating consumer sentiment data and the Middle East
conflict soured investors from taking riskier bets. The Dow
Jones Industrial Average  .DJI  inched up 0.12%.
    Heavyweight chip-related stocks fell, tracking U.S.
technology stocks, with Tokyo Electron  8035.T  and Advantest
 6857.T  falling 3.84% and 4.79%, respectively.
    Technology start-up investor SoftBank Group  9984.T  slipped
2.04%. 
    Railway operator Keio  9008.T  lost 6.33% to become the
worst performer on the Nikkei.
    Bucking the trend, Lawson  2651.T  rose 2.34% after raising
its annual profit forecast on robust performance at its
convenience stores.
    Ryohin Keikaku  7453.T  surged 8.91% after the operator of
retail outlet brand Muji forecast annual profit which beat
market consensus.
    All but two of 33 industry sub-indexes on the Tokyo Stock
Exchange fell.
    Energy explorers  .IMING.T  climbed 2.55%, with Inpex
 1605.T  jumping 2.7% to become the top performer on the Nikkei.
    Refiners  .IPETE.t  rose 1.41%, with Eneos Holdings  5020.T 
rising 1.89%.

 (Reporting by Junko Fujita; Editing by Janane Venkatraman and
Varun H K)
 ((junko.fujita@thomsonreuters.com;))