Tokyo stocks end lower as yen strengthens

TOKYO: Tokyo shares trimmed early gains to end lower Thursday, as chip-linked shares lost momentum and investors were spooked by a stronger yen.

The benchmark Nikkei 225 index dropped 1.23 percent, or 492.07 points, to 39,598.71, while the broader Topix index slid 0.44 percent, or 12.13 points, to 2,718.54.

The dollar fetched 148.60 yen, compared with 149.44 yen in New York.

The Tokyo market started trading higher following global rallies fuelled by hopes for long-awaited US Fed rate cuts.

Global shares staged a comeback as Federal Reserve chief Jerome Powell said Wednesday that it would be “appropriate to begin dialling back policy restraint at some point this year”, barring any unexpected events.

But the market then nosedived into negative territory after “semiconductor-linked shares lost steam and export-driven stocks struggled,” IwaiCosmo Securities said.