Nikkei closes 1% lower as chipmakers slump
19/06/2023 07:56
TOKYO, June 19 (Reuters) - Japan's Nikkei share average
ended 1% lower on Monday as investors sold chip-related stocks,
while foreign investors kept on the sidelines with U.S. markets
being closed for the Juneteenth holiday.
The Nikkei .N225 closed lower at 33,370.42, after rising
0.2% earlier in the session. Last week, the benchmark hit a
33-year high and posted its 10th consecutive weekly gain.
"There was always a support from foreign investors when the
Nikkei turned weak, but today was different," said Seiichi
Suzuki, chief equity market analyst at Tokai Tokyo Research
Institute.
"There was not enough buyers as foreign investors seemed to
have been away from the market ahead of a U.S. holiday on
Monday. The Nikkei may turn course in the latter part of the
next session when foreign investors are back."
Chip-related stocks fell, with Advantest 6857.T and Tokyo
Electron 8035.T slipping 2.45% and 3.32%, respectively. Screen
Holdings 7735.T lost 3.34%.
Uniqlo brand owner Fast Retailing 9983.T slipped 1.42%.
Toyota Motor 7203.T lost 1.4% after rising nearly 20% this
month.
The yen JPY=EBS touched a near seven-month low against the
dollar on Monday, after the Bank of Japan maintained its
ultra-low interest rate policy. FRX/
If the yen keeps weakening, the Japanese central bank may
have to tweak its policy in the near future and such speculation
lifted the banking sector .IBNKS.T by 1.12%, said Shigetoshi
Kamada, general manager at the research department at Tachibana
Securities.
The banking index .IBNKS.T rose nearly 1% to become the
best performer among the 33 industry sub-indexes on the Tokyo
Stock Exchange. The insurance sector .IINSU T> gained 0.74%.
The broader Topix .TOPX lost 0.43% to 2,290.50.
(Reporting by Junko Fujita; Editing by Subhranshu Sahu and
Sherry Jacob-Phillips)
((junko.fujita@thomsonreuters.com;))