Nikkei reverses course to trade lower on profit-booking

TOKYO: Japan’s Nikkei share average reversed course to trade lower on Thursday, as investors booked profits from sharp gains in the previous session.

The Nikkei was down 0.33% at 39,349.23, as of 0200 GMT, after rising 2.6% on Wednesday to a three-week closing high. The benchmark rose as much as 1% earlier in the session, tracking Wall Street’s record close overnight after Republican Donald Trump won the 2024 US presidential election.

Trump’s victory unleashed a massive rally in the dollar, drove stocks to record highs and punished bond prices. “Nikkei’s reversal indicated that the sharp gains in the previous session were led by short-term investors who bet on a rally on Trump trades,” said Takehiko Masuzawa, trading head at Phillip Securities Japan. “They quickly sold stocks to book profits.”