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Tokyo shares opened lower on Wednesday, taking cues from US tech shares that headed south in thin holiday trading. news online
The benchmark Nikkei 225 index lost 0.50 percent, or 131.07 points, to 26,316.80 at the open, while the broader Topix index slipped 0.11 percent, or 2.15 points, to 1,908.00.
The dollar stood at 133.68 yen, compared with 133.44 yen on Tuesday in New York.
Semiconductor shares soured after the tech-rich Nasdaq lost 1.4 percent while the Dow edged up 0.1 percent.
Global investors remained cautious as US yields trended higher, particularly worrying technology companies, which generally rely on debt financing more than industrial companies.
The Tokyo market opened softer as “US shares ended mixed. That is not providing a fresh buying incentive,” online brokerage Monex said in a note.
Global investors also continued to digest the news that China was ending its strict quarantine rules for overseas arrivals, opening its economy while also boosting hopes among global tourism businesses.
While the move will once again open China as a global supplier of low-cost goods and should ease supply chain bottlenecks, the nation’s robust demand for raw materials and energy will push up commodity prices, analysts said.
“Indeed, reopening is rekindling some inflationary spirits,” Stephen Innes of SPI Asset Management said in a note.
“While a full China reopening could provide a much-needed and timely boost to the global economy, it may come with unwelcome ambiguous strings attached,” he wrote.
Ahead of the opening bell in Tokyo, the Japanese government said the nation’s factory output in November slipped 0.1 percent from October, a third straight monthly decline.
Among major shares, Advantest, the global leader in tests for semiconductors, fell 1.76 percent to 8,350 yen.
Tokyo Electron, the world’s third-largest producer of tools to make semiconductors, lost 1.79 percent to 38,970 yen.
Sony Group fell 0.39 percent to 10,115 yen. SoftBank Group fell 1.60 percent to 5,703 yen.
Heavily weighted Uniqlo-operator Fast Retailing fell 1.08 percent to 81,440 yen.
hih/sah/cwl
© Agence France-Presse. All rights are reserved.
Hong Kong Shares Open Higher
Hong Kong stocks jumped one percent at the open Wednesday after China said it would end quarantine for overseas arrivals, reopening the world’s second-largest economy after nearly three years of Covid isolation.
The Hang Seng index rose 0.99 percent, or 194.88 points, to 19,787.94 as the market reopened after the Christmas break.
The Shanghai Composite Index slipped 0.22 percent, or 6.95 points, to 3,088.62, while the Shenzhen Composite Index on China’s second exchange retreated 0.38 percent, or 7.66 points, to 1,985.66.
mtp/cwl
© Agence France-Presse. All rights are reserved.
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