2023-08-04 08:10:30
Tokyo Stock Exchange
The Japanese Nikkei index ended trading, Friday, almost unchanged, with anticipation of the release of US jobs data, while gains in technology stocks supported the index.
The Nikkei index rose 0.10 percent to 32,130.94 points, following falling below 32,000 points earlier in the session for the first time since July 13.
The index lost nearly four percent in the past two sessions following the sudden downgrade of the credit rating of the United States, and recorded a weekly loss of 1.7 percent.
“It seems that the downgrade due to the downgrade of the United States has now stopped with the end of a round of selling by investors in the short term,” Takehiko Masuzawa, head of trading operations at Philip Securities in Japan, said in a report to Archyde.com.
“However, investors refrained from betting on stocks before the release of US jobs data. If the result is strong, returns will rise, which may push investors to sell stocks,” he added.
On Tuesday, Fitch lowered the credit rating of the United States to AA+ from AAA, which led to a rise in Treasury yields in Japan and the United States and negatively affected stocks.
The broader Topix index ended its early losses, rising 0.28 percent to 2,274.63 points at the close, but lost 0.7 percent during the week.
Nintendo shares fell 2.91 percent, despite the video game company’s first-quarter profit rising 82 percent compared to the same period last year.
Soy sauce maker Kikkoman fell 4.5 percent, topping losses on the Nikkei index.
While Tokyo Electron, a chip manufacturing equipment company, rose 0.88 percent, providing the biggest support for the index. SoftBank Group fell 0.72 percent.
Advantest, a maker of chip testing equipment, rose 0.34 percent.
Among the 225 stocks listed on the Nikkei index, 130 rose and 93 fell, while two stocks remained unchanged.
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