Nikkei Slips from 34-year High on Sell-Off for Profit Lock (Update 1)

Reuters

12:52 JST, February 9, 2024 (updated at 16:10 JST)

TOKYO, Feb 9 (Reuters) – Japan’s Nikkei index inched higher at close on Friday, coming off from a fresh 34-year high as investors sold stocks to lock in profits.

The Nikkei edged up 0.09% to 36,897.42 after jumping as much as 1.15% to 37,282,26, its highest since February 1990.

Investors wanted to sell stocks as the Nikkei reached the 37,000 milestone. The pace of the gains was too fast, said Shuji Hosoi, senior strategist at Daiwa Securities.

SoftBank Group jumped 8.72%, rising for a second straight session, after the tech investment firm returned to profit for the first time in five quarters.

The jump in shares was also driven by a more-than-55% surge in Arm Holdings, in which SoftBank owns 90%, on Thursday after the British tech company forecast quarterly sales and profit above Wall Street expectations.

Uniqlo-brand owner Fast Retailing fell 0.92%, weighing on the Nikkei the most.

The broader Topix gave up early gains to fall 0.19% to 2,557.88, weighed by Toyota Motor’s 0.81% drop.

Nissan Motor tanked 11.56% after the automaker trimmed its sales volume forecast for this financial year and amid worries about its business in China.

Of 225 shares on the Nikkei, 87 stocks rose and 136 fell with two flat.