Tokyo (awp/afp) – The Tokyo Stock Exchange quickly reversed its initial gains on Friday morning, continuing to be concerned about the consequences for growth of increased monetary tightening by the US Federal Reserve (Fed).
The flagship Nikkei index lost 0.31% to 26,806.05 points around 1:40 a.m. GMT and the broader Topix index fell 0.47% to 1,884.08 points.
The two indices had yet started the session in the green, driven by the slight rise the day before on Wall Street, gradually digesting the prospect of a tightening of Fed policy to counter US inflation.
But this little momentum quickly died down. The Tokyo market risked “lacking direction” on the eve of the weekend, while awaiting new key data on US inflation next week, Okasan Online Securities commented in a note.
On the side of values
TOSHIBA: the industrial conglomerate Toshiba saw its title climb by 2.47% to 5,010 yen. The group announced Thursday evening the suspension of its split plan, rejected at the end of March by its shareholders, and the establishment of a special committee to study possible takeover offers.
SEVEN & I HOLDINGS: the action of the Japanese giant of convenience stores Seven & i Holdings fell by 4.52% to 5,544 yen. The company announced strong growth in 2022/23 earnings forecasts on Thursday, but below market expectations. Seven & i Holdings is benefiting in particular from increased margins on the sale of gasoline in its network of Speedway service stations in the United States, as well as from the weak yen which is boosting its revenues made abroad.
On the side of oil and currencies
Around 01:35 GMT the price of a US barrel of WTI gained 0.22% to 96.24 dollars and that of a barrel of Brent from the North Sea took 0.1% to 100.68 dollars.
On the foreign exchange market, the yen rose against the dollar, to 123.78 yen for a dollar at 01:45 GMT against 123.95 yen Thursday at 21:00 GMT.
The Japanese currency also recovered against the euro, which was worth 134.53 yen against 134.85 yen the day before.
The euro traded at 1.0868 dollars against 1.0879 dollars on Thursday at 9:00 p.m. GMT.
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