Japan’s Nikkei Stock Falls in Thin Holiday Trading, Honda Soars (UPDATE 1)

Reuters

12:21 JST, December 24, 2024 (updated at 17:00 JST)

TOKYO (Reuters) – Japan’s Nikkei share average fell on Tuesday, giving back some of the previous session’s gains, with trading largely lacking direction in a holiday-thinned week.

Honda stood out with a more than 12% surge that dwarfed moves elsewhere on the benchmark index, after announcing a share buyback following market close on Monday, when it also revealed talks to merge with Nissan. The deal had been reported by Reuters and other media prior to the announcement.

The Nikkei fell 0.32% to end the day at 39,036.85, following a 1.2% rise on Monday, its first advance since Dec. 12.

The broader Topix ended nearly flat.

Honda was by far the best performing stock on the Nikkei, jumping 12.22%. Nissan endured volatile trading, slumping as much as 7.33% in early trading before rebounding strongly to end the day up 6%.

Nissan-partner Mitsubishi Motors said it was also considering joining the alliance. Its shares rose 7.19%.

Overall, Japanese stocks were mixed, with 102 of the Nikkei’s 225 components rising versus 122 that fell, with one flat.

“Amid a lack of market drivers, trading is going to be largely directionless,” said Maki Sawada, an equities strategist at Nomura Securities.

“Market participants (are) conscious of the Christmas holidays.”

Japanese markets are open all week, unlike in many parts of Asia, Europe and the Americas. The final trading day of 2024 is Dec. 30.

So far this month, the Nikkei is up 2.17%, putting it on course for a 16.65% advance this year. (Reporting by Kevin Buckland; Editing by Sonia Cheema and Mrigank Dhaniwala)