Tokyo Stocks Likely Top-Heavy This Week Due to Rising U.S. Interest Rates, Other Factors

Jiji Press

0:06 JST, September 24, 2023

TOKYO (Jiji Press) — Tokyo stocks are expected to be top-heavy this week due to the harsh external environment such as rising U.S. interest rates, market sources said Friday.

Last week, the Nikkei average of 225 selected issues listed on the Tokyo Stock Exchange’s Prime section lost 1,130.68 points, or 3.37%, to end at 32,402.41 on Friday.

The Nikkei retreated in all four trading days of the week from Tuesday, battered chiefly by growing fears of prolonged monetary tightening by the U.S. Federal Reserve following the Federal Open Market Committee meeting through Wednesday.

The market was closed on Monday for a national holiday.

This week, the Nikkei average is expected to move mainly between 32,100 and 32,900, analysts and brokers said.

The market is likely to stage a technical rebound in the first half of the week following the sell-off last week, a market source said.

Even if selling pressure grew, “stocks would resist dropping sharply” as they are expected to be underpinned by buying to secure interim dividend rights before the end of the April-September first half of fiscal 2023, an official at a major securities firm said.

But the climb of U.S. long-term interest rates following the FOMC meeting, where policymakers suggested that the U.S. central bank would next year begin lowering policy rates at a slower pace than expected, is seen weighing mainly on technology stocks and other growth names.

Concerns about the Chinese economy’s slowdown are also likely to dampen sentiment, another source noted.

The Nikkei would become top-heavy when it approaches the psychological threshold of 33,000 and go sideways for the rest of the week amid a dearth of fresh cues, analysts forecast.

Closely watched U.S. data include durable goods orders in August, due out Wednesday.