Tokyo: Stocks close lower

[TOKYO] Tokyo stocks closed lower Tuesday on growing concern over rising cases of the Delta coronavirus variant, with focus turning to key US economic indicators due later this week.

The benchmark Nikkei 225 index lost 0.81 per cent or 235.41 points to 28,812.61, while the broader Topix index fell 0.82 per cent or 16.19 points to 1,949.48.

"The concern over the coronavirus variant offset the positive impact of the recent acceleration of vaccinations," said Yoshihiro Okumura of Chibagin Asset Management.

"Investors are also concerned that the Tokyo Olympics could lead to a spike in infections in Japan," Mr Okumura told AFP.

Trading was sluggish as investors took a wait-and-see attitude ahead of US unemployment figures due on Friday, brokers said.

The dollar fetched 110.58 yen in Asian afternoon trade against 110.60 yen in New York late Monday.

In Tokyo, SoftBank Group dropped 2.14 per cent to 7,755 yen after the firm said it had suspended production of its humanoid robot Pepper.

Nissan lost 1.99 per cent to 554.8 yen with Toyota down 1.03 per cent at 9,740 yen as a delay in shipments of semiconductors are weighing on auto productions.

But Dentsu rose 0.37 per cent to 4,000 yen after announcing plans to sell its headquarters building in Tokyo.

Japan's jobless rate in May worsened slightly to 3 per cent from 2.8 per cent in the previous month, according to official data released by the internal affairs ministry before the opening bell.

The data did not prompt a strong market reaction.

AFP