TOKYO, Sept 24 — Tokyo’s benchmark Nikkei index closed down more than 1.1 per cent today, weighed down by a rout on Wall Street.
The Nikkei 225 index fell 1.11 per cent, or 258.67 points, to 23,087.82, while the broader Topix index lost 1.08 per cent, or 17.81 points, to 1,626.44.
“Shares were pressured by sharp drops in the US, which also depressed other Asian stocks,” said Toshikazu Horiuchi, a broker at IwaiCosmo Securities.
Yesterday, Wall Street stocks tumbled as a September sell-off resumed, with worries over a coronavirus second wave and an increasingly contentious US presidential election.
“But market sentiment was sustained by expectations for economic stimulus” from the new Japanese administration, while purchases aimed at receiving dividends limited selling pressure, Horiuchi told AFP.
“Reversing the yen’s recent appreciation is also supporting the downside,” he added.
The dollar fetched ¥105.33 in Asian afternoon trade against 105.39 yen in New York and ¥105.08 in Tokyo late yesterday.
Among major shares in Tokyo, Toyota dropped 2.16 per cent to ¥6,928 and Panasonic lost 2.43 per cent to ¥903.8, with Nintendo down 1.98 per cent at ¥59,220. — AFP
