Tokyo: Nikkei plunges 2% as yen rise clobbers exporters

JAPAN’S Nikkei share average tumbled as much as 2 per cent to a three-week low on Friday as a sharply higher yen hurt autos and other exporter stocks. Investors were also cautious ahead of key US monthly jobs data expected to inform the path of further Federal Reserve interest rate hikes. Declines in equity benchmarks around the rest of the Asia-Pacific region also weighed.

However, Japan’s shock win over Spain in the soccer World Cup overnight lifted shares of online broadcaster CyberAgent, sportswear maker Mizuno and British-style pub chain Hub.

The Nikkei was down 1.98 per cent at 27,668.06 at 0207 GMT after dipping to 27,662.12, the lowest since Nov 10. The steep drop more than reversed Thursday’s 0.9 per cent rally, with 220 of the Nikkei’s 225 components dropping and just five rising. CyberAgent – the social media and online ad company that is broadcasting all of the Qatar World Cup matches on its Ameba app – was far and away the Nikkei’s best performer, surging 5.25 per cent. Mizuno and Hub, which are not listed on the Nikkei, rose 0.84 per cent and 9.42 per cent, respectively. The broader Topix index sank 2.03 per cent to 1,946.12. All of its 33 subsectors declined. The dollar fell as low as 135.01 yen on Friday, the lowest since Aug 18, extending the previous day’s plunge of more than 2 per cent. “Many Japanese companies have their assumed dollar-yen rate set around 135, so additional yen strength has a very high probability of a becoming a drag on earnings,” Kazuo Kamitani, a strategist at Nomura, said in a conference call with journalists. “If there was a decline in US stocks along with continued appreciation in the yen, it would lead to a big and broad decline in Japanese stocks, and the mood in the market today is extremely cautious.”

MSCI’s index of regional stocks outside Japan slipped 0.28 per cent, and US S&P 500 E-mini futures pointed 0.37 per cent lower. Investors globally will be closely watching Friday’s US non-farm payrolls for any further evidence of a peak in inflationary pressures to support Fed Chair Jerome Powell’s comments this week that it is time to slow rate hikes. On the Nikkei, Mitsubishi Motors was the worst performer, sliding 4.95 per cent. Nissan tumbled 3.41 per cent, Honda eased 2.46 per cent and Toyota lost 2.25 per cent. Nintendo retreated 1.95 per cent and Sony fell 1.81 per cent. The biggest drag was Uniqlo store operator Fast Retailing 9983.T), which shaved 39 points off the Nikkei with its 1.5 per cent decline. AFP