Japan's Nikkei set to snap six-day winning streak

Toho Co (Tokyo)

16/01/2024 03:33

By Brigid Riley
       TOKYO, Jan 16 (Reuters) - 
    Japan's Nikkei share average slipped on Tuesday, putting it
on track to snap a six-day winning streak which pushed the index
to 34-year highs.
  
    The Nikkei  .N225  fell 0.3% to 35,792.06 by the midday
break, with only 60 stocks rising against 162 decliners.
    The broader Topix  .TOPX  was down 0.49% at 2,515.29.
    The Nikkei briefly surged to 36,008.23 the previous day, a
level not seen since February 1990, but failed to hold onto it,
closing at 35,901.73.
    While corporate governance reforms in Japan have been
impactful, "in my opinion, the market was getting to irrational
levels," said Kyle Rodda, senior financial market analyst at
Capital.com.
    "With technicals this overbought, we are due a correction."
    The Nikkei volatility index  .JNIV  eased to 21.44.
    The market on Monday saw the first release of a list of
companies that had complied with the Tokyo Stock Exchange's call
to disclose plans to improve capital efficiency.
    Nearly half of companies on the prime section have
responded, the bourse said, although some of Japan's most
influential companies such as Toyota Motor  7203.T  and SoftBank
Group  9984.T  were absent from the list.
    Shares of SoftBank Group were down 0.5%, while Toyota Motor
shares were largely unchanged.
    Toyota plans to produce about 10.3 million vehicles globally
in 2024, according to a local news report published on Monday.
    Online gaming firm Nexon  3659.T , Dai Nippon Printing
 7912.T  and entertainment production company Toho  9602.T  were
the largest percentage losers on the Nikkei, down 3.73%, 3.29%
and 3.25%, respectively.
    Of the 33 industry groups on the Topix, only four advanced
by midday, with shippers  .ISHIP.T  gaining 2.37% to lead the
pack.

 (Reporting by Brigid Riley; Editing by Varun H K)
 ((brigid.riley@thomsonreuters.com;))