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BCN-07
STOCKS-MARKETS-JAPAN-OPEN
Tokyo stocks open flat with investors wary of trade war
TOKYO, June 25, 2018 (BSS/AFP) – Tokyo stocks opened flat on Monday with
worries over a US-China trade war partly offset by optimism about the US
economy.
The benchmark Nikkei 225 index edged up just 0.20 points to 22,517.03 in
early trade, while the broader Topix index was down 0.11 percent or 1.95
points at 1,742.88.
Falls in Japanese shares come after world stock markets mostly climbed
Friday despite rising trade tensions, with the Dow snapping an eight-session
losing streak, closing up 0.5 percent at 24,580.89.
On Monday, the dollar fetched 109.85 yen against 109.98 yen in New York
later Friday.
“Concerns over a trade war have been weighing on the Japanese market, but
we don’t think the impact is grave enough to hit the US economy immediately,”
said Tsuyoshi Nomabuchi, a Daiwa Securities strategist.
“The biggest challenge for Japanese companies will be trade negotiations
linked to the auto industry,” he added.
“Falls in the Chinese market so far have had limited impact on the
Japanese and US share prices, but this should be kept in mind as a potential
risk.”
In Tokyo, telecom giant SoftBank was down 1.14 percent to 8,301 yen and
automaker Nissan was down 0.37 percent, while construction machinery giant
Komatsu rose 1.76 percent to 3,167 yen and Hitachi gained 0.68 percent to
788.4 yen.
BSS/AFP/HR/0942