Tokyo stocks end lower
TOKYO, Japan: Tokyo stocks ended lower on Wednesday as investors brushed off gains on Wall Street, where soft US jobs data boosted hopes for an interest rate cut.
(FILES) The logo of British pharmaceutical company GlaxoSmithKline (GSK) is seen at the GSK factory in Wavre on February 8, 2021. - The British pharmaceutical giant GSK fell by almost 10% on Monday morning, June 3, in London, after a decision by an American court, paving the way for trials on its heartburn drug Zantac, accused by patients of having contributed to their cancer. — AFP.
The benchmark Nikkei 225 index was down 0.89 percent, or 347.29 points, to end at 38,490.17, while the broader Topix index was down 1.41 percent, or 39.26 points, at 2,748.22.
The Tokyo market was dragged down mostly by “high-tech growth stocks, and the pressure to sell strengthened”, Daiwa Securities said. US investors welcomed figures showing US job openings slipped below 8.1 million in April, 300,000 down from the previous month, and worse than expectations, according to Briefing.com.
The data suggest there is more slack in the labour market, which would support calls for the Federal Reserve to start cutting interest rates from their current multi-decade highs. Among major shares in Tokyo, advertising giant Hakuhodo tumbled 14.52 percent to 1,159 yen after a disappointing earnings result.
Tokyo Electron slid 2.66 percent to 33,540 yen, while Mitsubishi UFJ Financial Group lost 2.40 percent to 1,643 yen and Toyota dropped 2.42 percent to 3,218 yen. Uniqlo operator Fast Retailing edged up 0.56 percent to 40,740 yen. — AFP.
