The Nikkei stock average continued its decline for a third consecutive day on Friday, stock market data showed on July 19.
Stock sentiment was dampened by weakness in some Asian markets, although declines were limited by bargain hunting after the Nikkei fell the previous day.
Japan’s benchmark Nikkei 225 index closed down 62.56 points, or 0.16 percent, at 40,063.79. The broader Topix index ended down 7.80 points, or 0.27 percent, at 2,860.83.
In the prime stock market, the leading decliners were shares in the mining, electricity and gas, and shipping industries.
Growth leaders: NEC Corp (+3.60%), Hoya Cor (+3.45%) and Renesas Electronics Corp (+3.45%).
Top losers: Astellas Pharma Inc (-3.24%), Japan Post Holdings (-3.14%) and Sumitomo Metal Mining (-3.13%).
Stocks fell in early trading, following overnight losses on Wall Street, with the Nikkei index briefly dipping below the 40,000 threshold for the first time in about two weeks.
Analysts said the market remained under pressure in the afternoon due to falls in some Asian markets.
“Investors also adjusted their positions amid some uncertainty ahead of the earnings season, which begins next week.”said Maki Sawada, investment content strategist at Nomura Securities Co.
However, stocks moved into positive territory at one point as investors hunted for bargains a day after the Nikkei index lost nearly 1,000 points, while sentiment was boosted by the yen’s weakness against the dollar.
Among the most actively traded stocks in Japan, the leader for the 65th consecutive trading day was Nippon Telegraph & Telephone Corp (166.57 million), (260th consecutive session in the top five). The second place for the 12th day was occupied by Mitsubishi Heavy Industries (61.79 million), (day 28 in the ranking). The third position was occupied by the stocks of the engineering company Honda Motor (55.33 million), (3d). The shares of Japan’s largest energy company, Tokyo Electric Power Co (TEPCO), (40.55 million), (1d) returned to the top line in fourth place. The top five trading leaders were closed by the stocks of the country’s largest financial group, Mitsubishi UFJ Financial Group (37.63 million).
Note that the main activists were in the red today, as the quotes of all their participants decreased.
The total trading volume of shares of Japanese market leaders decreased to 361.87 million, which is still above the daily average for June (347.6 million).
Source: Rossa Primavera
I am Michael Melvin, an experienced news writer with a passion for uncovering stories and bringing them to the public. I have been working in the news industry for over five years now, and my work has been published on multiple websites. As an author at 24 News Reporters, I cover world section of current events stories that are both informative and captivating to read.