The Nikkei lost 1.42% to 25,742.66 with a midday break, its lowest level since Oct. 3. The broader Topix index lost 1.02%, to 1,872.43. Wall Street’s major indices closed lower overnight with the biggest declines from Tesla and Apple, while investors worried about the path of the US Federal Reserve’s interest rate hike as they waited minutes from the December policy meeting. Reuters reported.
In Japan, clothing brand owner Fast Retailing Uniqlo lost 2.11%, outpacing the Nikkei index further, while chip testing equipment maker Advantest fell 2.24%. Pharmaceutical maker Daiichi Sankyo fell 5.69% and Eisai fell 6.31%.
On top of the weakness on Wall Street, the yen’s gains against the dollar affected investor sentiment, Maki Sawada, a strategist at Nomura Securities, told reporters.
The yen rose to a seven-month high against the dollar on Tuesday amid growing speculation that the Bank of Japan may move away from its ultra-easy monetary policy.
All but three industrial sub-indices declined. The banking sector jumped 2.86%, becoming the biggest gainer among 33 industrial groups, and insurance companies rose 0.8%. The brokerage sector rose 0.07%.
Of the 225 components of the Nikkei index, 31 stocks rose while 194 stocks declined.
The volume of shares traded on the main board of the Tokyo Stock Exchange was 0.68 billion, compared to an average of 1.18 billion in the past 30 days.
Rial