Tokyo: Stocks close lower

[TOKYO] Tokyo stocks closed lower on Thursday in cautious trade after a mixed lead from Wall Street and with investors still concerned about the coronavirus situation in Japan.

The benchmark Nikkei 225 index lost 1.15 per cent or 329.40 points to end at 28,279.09, while the broader Topix index fell 1.20 per cent or 23.55 points to 1,939.61.

"The Nikkei index opened lower after a mixed close for US shares... Then the losses widened as a variety of shares were sold," Okasan Online Securities said.

The market was weighed down by a stronger yen and fears of an economic slowdown with Tokyo under emergency restrictions due to surging virus cases, it added.

The dollar fetched 109.77 yen in Asian trade, down from 109.95 yen in New York and 110.49 yen in Tokyo Wednesday.

In Tokyo trading, Nissan dropped 2.30 per cent to 566.8 yen after a journalist tweeted that more than 700 workers from the auto giant's factory in Sunderland in Britain were self-isolating as the city saw a spike in Covid-19 cases.

Contacted by AFP, a Nissan spokesperson could not immediately confirm the information.

Its rival Toyota dipped 0.37 per cent to 9,832 yen while Honda fell 1.76 per cent to 3,514 yen.

Uniqlo operator Fast Retailing lost 1.10 per cent to 79,600 yen while SoftBank Group shrank 1.20 per cent to 7,534 yen.

AFP