Tokyo stocks closed lower on Monday amid escalating global trade tensions, with a stronger yen also weighing on the market, reports BSS/AFP.
The benchmark Nikkei 225 index ended down 0.92 percent, or 190.31 points, at 20,410.88, while the broader Topix market lost 0.88 percent, or 13.32 points, to 1,498.96. ‘Worries over the US-led trade war and a higher yen prompted sell orders in the Tokyo market, with no strong appetite for bargain hunting,’ Okasan Online Securities said in a commentary. US President Donald Trump’s surprise threat Thursday to place duties on all imports from Mexico, beginning at five percent on June 10 and rising to as high as 25 percent, rattled world markets on Friday. On Sunday, Trump stepped up his attacks on Mexico over immigration, as a top aide warned the US president is ‘deadly serious’ about imposing tariffs on imports from the southern neighbour.
‘People have been saying for years that we should talk to Mexico. The problem is that Mexico is an ‘abuser’ of the United States, taking but never giving.’
Trump said in a series of tweets Sunday. China on Sunday warned that while it wants resolution of a trade war with the US through talks, there will be no compromise on its core principles. The dollar fetched 108.24 yen in Asian trade, against 108.35 yen in New York and 108.92 yen in Tokyo afternoon hours on Friday.
In Tokyo, electronics and chip-linked shares were broadly lower, with Sharp dropping 3.09 percent to 958 yen, chip-testing equipment maker Advantest losing 1.21 percent to 2,520 yen and chip-making equipment manufacturer Tokyo Electron down 2.06 percent at 14,454 yen.
SoftBank Group dived 6.22 percent to 9,612 after a report that SoftBank’s attempt to raise money for a second large investment fund is running into trouble, with some of the biggest money managers in the world showing little interest.
