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Tokyo stocks end four-day winning streak on China-US trade jitters
TOKYO, Feb 22, 2019 (BSS/AFP) – Tokyo stocks closed lower on Friday,
snapping a four-day winning streak as investors waited to see how US-China
trade talks will develop.
The benchmark Nikkei 225 index slipped 0.18 percent or 38.72 points to
21,425.51. Over the week, it rose 2.51 percent.
The broader Topix index ended Friday down 0.25 percent or 3.98 points at
1,609.52 but over the week it gained 2.04 percent.
Sentiment was low from early in the day after seeing weaker-than-expected
US economic data, sending major US indices — Dow, S&P and Nasdaq — down 0.4
percent overnight.
Ahead of the weekend, investors opted to sell to lock in profits after the
recent gains while continuing to monitor US-China trade talks.
“There is a strong mood to wait for any developments in the US-China trade
talks,” Okasan Online Securities chief strategist Yoshihiro Ito said in a
note.
“It’s difficult to make a (fresh) move,” he said.
The dollar was trading at 110.77 yen against 110.69 yen in New York.
Investor reactions were muted for government data that showed Japan’s core
consumer prices rise 0.8 percent in January from a year earlier, after a gain
of 0.7 percent in December.
Among major shares, Toyota eased 0.16 percent to 6,720 yen and Sony fell
0.50 percent to 5,313 yen.
But IT investor SoftBank Group rose 0.43 percent to 10,275 yen.
BSS/AFP/HR/1405