close Japan’s Nikkei index is at a three-week lowToday, Friday, under pressure from the decline in stocks of technology companies, while the sharp gains of the yen caused losses for auto manufacturers.
Investors were cautious ahead of the release of monthly US jobs data, which might provide clues regarding the Federal Reserve’s stance on raising interest rates.
The Nikkei index fell 1.59 to 27,777.90 points, the lowest closing level since November 10, recording a weekly loss of 1.59%.
The Topix index fell 1.64% to 1953.98 points, following falling to 2.06%, which is the level that may push the Bank of Japan to intervene in the market, and the index suffered a weekly loss of 1.64%.
And Japan’s shock victory over Spain in the World Cup soccer tournament last night led to a rise in shares of Cyber Agent and the chain of bars (Hub).
The share of Cyber Agent for social communication and online , which broadcasts all the World Cup matches in Qatar through its Amoeba application, rose 3.95%, while the share of Hub jumped 7.03%.
Investors around the world are awaiting US non-farm payrolls data, to be published later today, Friday, in search of indications that the peak of inflationary pressures has passed, which supports Federal Reserve Chairman Jerome Powell’s statements this week that the time has come to reduce the pace of interest rate hikes.
Mitsubishi Motors was the worst performer on the Nikkei index, falling 5.91%, while Nissan fell 2.98% and Toyota 1.38%.
