TOKYO: Tokyo stocks ended nearly flat on Friday after a session of thin trading with many foreign investors away for Christmas. The benchmark Nikkei 225 index eased 0.05 percent, or 15.78 points, to 28,782.59, while the broader Topix index slipped 0.13 percent, or 2.65 points, to 1,986.78.
The dollar fetched 114.40 yen in Asian trade, flat from New York late Thursday.
Overnight gains on Wall Street put the Tokyo market in positive territory in early trade.
“Investors were heartened by gains of some US high-tech shares,” prompting buying in the Tokyo market, Okasan Online Securities said.
The Nikkei spent most of the session zigzagging just above the previous day’s close.
But it dipped into negative territory shortly before the session ended as investors awaited fresh cues, with many on a year-end break.
“Institutional investors, like foreign investors, are away. There is only limited appetite among individual investors to look for bargains and buy,” Okasan said.
“Given the current wait-and-see mood, some investors are selling shares to close their positions,” it said.
Shortly before the market closed, several regional governments in Japan announced they had detected new cases of the Omicron coronavirus variant in the community with no known source.
Overall case numbers remain low and the government has asked citizens to exercise caution and good hygiene but has not banned people from travelling to see relatives during the New Year. Among major shares, Sony Group rose 0.39 percent to 14,270 yen. Advantest added 0.37 percent to 10,870 yen, and SoftBank Group slipped 0.59 percent to 5,379 yen. Japan Airlines fell 0.73 percent to 2,177 yen while its rival ANA Holdings slipped 0.48 percent to 2,383 yen.
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