TOKYO: Japan’s Nikkei share average closed lower on Friday, hurt by declines in growth shares amid higher long-term bond yields, sending the benchmark to its first weekly loss in four.
The Nikkei ended 0.11% lower at 27,899.77, reversing small gains from earlier. For the week, the index lost about 1.29%.
The broader Topix eked out a 0.04% rise to 1,967.03 on the day, but still posted a 0.54% weekly loss, also snapping a three-week rally.
The Topix growth share index slipped 0.14%, compared to a 0.22% gain for value shares.
The US S&P 500 fell overnight as St. Louis Federal Reserve Bank President James Bullard said more interest rate hikes are necessary.
Long-term Treasury yields bounced from six-week lows.
Amid an absence of strong trading cues leading up to the next US payrolls report at the start of December, “the Nikkei is likely to continue to fluctuate in a range between 27,500 and 28,100,” Kazuo Kamitani, an equity strategist at Nomura, said in a media conference call.
“Around 28,000 feels a little heavy.”
Chip shares drag Japan’s Nikkei lower; travel stocks jump as tourists return
For the day, tech investor SoftBank Group was the biggest drag on the Nikkei, shaving off 50 index points with its 3.86% slide. Online retailer Rakuten Group, another growth stock, was the biggest percentage decliner, dropping 5.55%.
Online hiring firm Recruit Holdings sank 3.19%. However, winners outnumbered losers among the Nikkei’s 225 components by 129 to 93, with three shares flat.
Automakers outperformed as the yen stabilized around 140 per dollar, after reaching its strongest level since August earlier in the week at 137.665.
A stronger yen cuts the value of repatriated overseas revenues.
Mitsubishi Motors rallied 2.77%, Isuzu gained 2.67% and Mazda was up 2.54%.
Toyota, though, ended flat. Among Nikkei sectors, utilities were the top performers, up 1.79%.
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