TOKYO: Japan’s Nikkei share average reversed early gains to end lower on Thursday, as growing uncertainty over the Middle East conflict prompted investors to sell stocks.
The Nikkei fell 0.27 percent to close at 53,603.65, after rising as much as 0.8 percent earlier in the session on hopes that tensions in the region would ease.
The broader Topix ended 0.22 percent lower at 3,642.8.
“Investors sold stocks to book profits from recent gains. Also higher oil prices fanned fears of inflation and downward pressure on the economy,” said Shuutarou Yasuda, a market analyst at Tokai Tokyo Intelligence Laboratory.
Japan’s economy remains highly exposed to spikes in crude oil prices due to its heavy reliance on imported energy. The closure of the Strait of Hormuz heavily weighs on Japan, which gets around 90 percent of its oil shipments via the passage.
The mining and shipping sectors jumped 5.16 percent and 2.79 percent, respectively, to become the top-performing sectors, a sign that investors bet the conflict will prolong, said a strategist at a domestic firm.
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