Markets

Tokyo shares close flat

TOKYO : Tokyo shares closed flat Monday, with earlier bargain-hunting driven gains losing steam as some other major Asia

Published June 20, 2011 Updated June 20, 2011 08:16am

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By Syed Murtaza Gheblehzadeh

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The benchmark Nikkei-225 index added 0.03 percent or 2.92 points to close at 9,354.32. The Topix index of all first-section issues rose 0.19 percent or 1.49 points to 806.83.

Weakness in some other major Asian bourses, including China and India, weighed on the Tokyo market, brokers said.

The Nikkei pared gains in the afternoon as foreign investors sold positions ahead of an expected decline in US stocks later in the global day, said Tsuyoshi Segawa, equity strategist at Mizuho Securities.

Utilities led the earlier gains as Japan's industry minister said Saturday that existing nuclear reactors should be restarted, after confirming additional measures had been taken to safeguard them from possible emergencies.

Tokyo Electric rose 3.97 percent to 314 yen and Chubu Electric soared 7.86 percent to 1,440 yen.

After seven hours of crunch talks, eurozone finance ministers early Monday said they and the IMF would release 12 billion euros of loans in "mid-July" on the condition that Greece adopted tough budget cuts and asset sales.

Nonetheless, dealers said uncertainty lingered over securing a eurozone bailout for Greece.

"Greece will continue to hang over investors' heads, as will the health of the US and Chinese economies, so buying will be limited until those issues clear up," an investment strategist at a Japanese securities firm said.

While Germany's decision to drop its insistence on forcing a rescheduling of Greek government bonds eased tensions somewhat, it wasn't enough to calm investors, the strategist noted.

A US Federal Open Market Committee meeting as well as Federal Reserve Chairman Ben Bernanke's comments on Wednesday will also be closely watched, dealers said.

Shortly before the opening, official data showed Japan logged a bigger-than-expected trade deficit of 853.7 billion yen ($10.7 billion) in May as exports suffered following the March earthquake and tsunami.

Fujitsu gained 1.15 percent at 437 yen after the electronics maker on Friday forecast net profit to rise 8.9 percent this year, expecting demand for IT products and services to recover.

Sony lost 2.71 percent to 1,936 yen amid growing worries about its outlook after being targeted in a massive online attack.

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