Japan’s Nikkei falls a third day as Iran crisis stokes stagflation concerns

TOKYO: Japan’s Nikkei share average slid for a third straight day on Monday as the Middle East crisis threatened longer-term damage to the economy through higher energy prices and a weaker yen.

The benchmark Nikkei 225 Index fell 1.3% to 53,138.42 as of the midday break.

The broader Topix slid 0.7% to 3,602.71.

The Nikkei has slid more than 9% since the start of US and Israeli air strikes on Iran more than two weeks ago, as the conflict spread into neighbouring countries and paralysed shipment of petroleum through the Strait of Hormuz.

Shares briefly turned up after US President Donald Trump said he is urging other countries to help safeguard shipping routes.

Japan does not currently plan to dispatch naval vessels to escort ships in the Middle East, Prime Minister Sanae Takaichi said.

Meanwhile, Finance Minister Satsuki Katayama said the government is prepared to take decisive steps in financial markets, as the yen sank close to the psychologically important 160-per-dollar line.

The market seems to be growing increasingly concerned about stagflation, where economies are gripped by simultaneous increases in inflation and declines in growth, said Maki Sawada, an equities strategist at Nomura Securities.

“Concerns about an economic slowdown due to rising oil prices are being factored in,” Sawada said.

“Rather than a general selloff today, we are seeing a trend where these domestic demand sectors are performing firmly and underpinning the Japanese stock market.”

There were 43 advancers on the Nikkei against 182 decliners.

The largest losers on the gauge were key suppliers to the artificial intelligence sector, Furukawa Electric and Fujikura, which both slid 6.7%.

The largest gainers in the index were meat processor NH Foods, up 2.3% and Denka, a chemical and advanced materials company, which rose 2.2%.