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BCN-06
STOCKS-JAPAN-OPEN
Tokyo stocks open flat with eyes on US Fed, trade
TOKYO, March 20, 2019 (BSS/AFP) – Tokyo stocks opened flat on Wednesday in
cautious trade amid uncertainty over US-China trade talks as investors await
the outcome of the US Federal Reserve’s policy meeting later in the day.
The benchmark Nikkei 225 index was down just 0.03 percent or 5.78 points
at 21,561.07 in early trade while the broader Topix index was down 0.04
percent or 0.62 points at 1,609.61.
“Japanese shares are seen trading without a sense of clear direction with
eyes on the Fed meeting and the development of the talks on Britain’s exit
from the EU,” Okasan Online Securities strategist Yoshihiro Ito said in a
commentary.
A wait-and-see attitude prevailed ahead of a public holiday in Japan on
Thursday and active speculation about US-China trade talks, he added.
The dollar fetched 111.45 yen in early Asian trade, against 111.40 yen in
New York.
US Trade Representative Robert Lighthizer and Treasury Secretary Steven
Mnuchin will return to Beijing next week as the United States and China inch
toward resolving their trade war, a senior administration official told AFP
on Tuesday.
After next week’s talks in Beijing, Chinese trade envoy Liu He will return
to Washington the following week, the Wall Street Journal reported, adding
that officials said talks were in their final stages.
But the South China Morning Post said the trade deal may be pushed back to
June, while other reports have said issues over the troubled Boeing 737 MAX
may complicate the trade talks.
In Tokyo, Nintendo was down 2.54 percent at 30,690 yen and Sony was down
3.83 percent at 4,928 yen after US tech giant Google said it is releasing a
Stadia platform that will let game players stream blockbuster titles to any
device they wish.
The online giant also unveiled a new controller and its own studio.
Elsewhere, Takeda Pharmaceutical was up 1.26 percent at 4,804 yen, Toyota
was up 0.45 percent at 6,693 yen while SoftBank Group was down 0.41 percent
at 10,965 yen.
On Wall Street, the Dow ended down 0.1 percent at 25,887.38.
BSS/AFP/HR/0940