Tokyo shares close lower on oil, crypto falls

TOKYO: Tokyo shares closed lower on Monday after a cautious trading session following falls in the prices of crude oil and cryptocurrency.

The benchmark Nikkei 225 index lost 0.74 percent, or 191.78 points, to end at 25,771.22, while the broader Topix index fell 0.92 percent, or 16.96 points, to end at 1,818.94.

“Shares opened higher following gains of the tech-rich US Nasdaq index on Friday,” Online Okasan Securities said, “but the collapse in oil and Bitcoin prices made investors wary.”

The Tokyo market was also weighed down by fears that interest rate hikes by central banks could trigger a global recession, analysts said.

The dollar fetched 134.90 yen in Asia, against 134.99 yen in New York on Friday.

Tokyo stocks close higher after US Fed hike

Oil-linked shares were lower, with energy developer Inpex plummeting 9.44 percent to 1,477 yen and smaller rival Idemitsu Kosan down 7.05 percent at 3,230 yen.

Construction machine maker Komatsu fell 5.00 percent to 3,015 yen.

But SoftBank Group jumped 3.02 percent to 4,933 yen while Uniqlo operator Fast Retailing rose 0.90 percent to 69,100 yen.