TOKYO: Tokyo stocks finished a choppy session flat on Friday as investors wait to see if European leaders will be able to come up with a plan to resolve the continent's debt crisis.
The Nikkei index at the Tokyo Stock Exchange edged down 3.26 points or 0.04 percent to close at 8,678.89. The Topix index of all first-section issues was down 0.24 percent, or 1.81 points, at 744.21.
Trading was lacklustre as market participants took to the sidelines ahead of a string of events in Europe to see the fate of a long-awaited comprehensive plan to address to the continent's sovereign debt problems.
A European Union summit due on Sunday will now be followed by a second meeting by Wednesday, as the leaders of France and Germany, who have been at loggerheads over how to resolve the issue, try to forge an agreement.
"Expectations are holding" that a deal over the European debt crisis will be struck by Wednesday, Kazuhiro Takahashi, general manager of investment strategy at Daiwa Securities, told Dow Jones Newswires.
Meanwhile, Hideyuki Ishiguro, supervisor of investment strategy at Okasan Securities, said: "Doubts still remain on whether something solid will come out of the meeting."
"The wait-and-see mood will likely continue until Wednesday," Ishiguro said.
Providing some support was news that the Greek parliament Thursday adopted controversial austerity measures demanded by its creditors to unlock the next tranche of a multibillion-euro bailout.
The euro was rangebound at $1.3787 and 105.83 yen in Tokyo afternoon trade against $1.3772 and 105.81 yen in New York late Thursday. The dollar stood at 76.76 yen, little changed from 76.78 yen.
Olympus continued its slide, with investors selling the camera maker as questions are raised over its fee payments linked to a number of acquisitions in recent years.
The firm was down 6.81 percent at 1,231 yen.
Tokyo Electric Power, the operator of the stricken Fukushima nuclear power plant, fell 9.93 percent to 263 yen after soaring 36 percent Thursday on speculative trading.
Comments
Comments are closed for this article.