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TOKYO (Jiji Press) — Tokyo stocks finished lower for the fifth straight market day Monday after struggling for direction amid a lack of fresh market-moving news.
The Nikkei average of 225 selected issues listed on the Tokyo Stock Exchange’s Prime section shed 198.69 points, or 0.61%, to finish at a one-month low of 32,189.73. The broader TOPIX index closed 11.57 points, or 0.51%, lower at 2,243.33.
After opening almost flat, the market headed north as investors picked up shares that had already fallen to reasonable levels in the ongoing slump, in which the Nikkei had plunged 1,384.91 points as of Friday. But selling pressure increased again later in the morning.
“Stocks have been prone to selling to lock in profits since last week,” said Masahiro Ichikawa, chief market strategist at Sumitomo Mitsui DS Asset Management Co.
The yen’s appreciation against the dollar weighed on the market as well, brokers said. However, buying interest grew after the Nikkei neared 32,000.
Bullish performances of other Asian shares also helped investors renew their appetite for Tokyo stocks, pushing both the Nikkei and TOPIX indexes back onto the sunny side around midafternoon, Ichikawa pointed out.
The market stalled toward the close, as “large-cap stocks bowed to moves to raise cash for exchange-traded funds’ dividend payouts,” said Chihiro Ota, general manager for investment research at SMBC Nikko Securities Inc.
