TOKYO: Tokyo’s benchmark Nikkei index lost nearly one percent Wednesday on profit-taking while investors shrugged off the British parliament’s vote against a Brexit deal.
The Nikkei 225 index fell 0.99%, or 213.45 points, to close at 21,290.24 while the broader Topix index was down 0.84%, or 13.41 points, at 1,592.07.
“Profit-taking quickly emerged following two days of gains as market sentiment is not very strong,“ said Shinichi Yamamoto, broker at Okasan Securities in Tokyo.
The fall came despite a sense of relief that a halt in US rate hikes will be extended after the latest US inflation data came in milder than expected.
The stock market largely ignored the British parliament’s vote against Prime Minister Theresa May’s Brexit deal.
“The result was within expectations and we don’t expect a surprise result in the upcoming votes,“ Yamamoto told AFP.
May promised to allow MPs to vote on a “no deal” option on Wednesday and, if that is rejected as expected, to decide on Thursday whether to ask the EU to delay Brexit.
The dollar fetched 111.34 yen in Asian afternoon trade, against 111.32 yen in New York.
In Tokyo, Nissan fell 0.15% to 929.3 yen after Renault, Nissan and Mitsubishi Motors unveiled the creation of a joint board following the arrest of former boss Carlos Ghosn.
ANA Holdings was down 1.45% at 3,987 yen after the airline company said it had no plans to suspend an order for 30 Boeing 737 Max 8 jets, the same model involved in a deadly crash in Ethiopia.
Fast Retailing, the market heavyweight and Uniqlo casual wear operator, lost 0.85% to 53,480 yen on profit-taking after rising nearly 3% the previous day. — AFP
