TOKYO: Japan’s Nikkei closed lower on Friday and posted a second consecutive weekly decline of 3.2 percent, as escalating tensions in the Middle East fuelled inflation concerns and prompted investors to dump riskier assets.
The Nikkei dropped 1.2 percent to close at 53,819.61 on Friday, after sliding as much as 2.1 percent earlier in the session. The index has lost 8.5 percent since its February 27 close, before the US-Israeli war with Iran erupted. The broader Topix eased 0.6 percent to 3,629.03.
“Although crude oil prices have retreated slightly from their recent peak, they remain well above levels seen before the conflict began,” Shutarou Yasuda, market analyst at Tokai Tokyo Intelligence Laboratory, said in a report. “Risks of turbulence in equity markets are likely to persist next week, depending on the news flow.”
Brent futures for May edged 0.04 percent lower to USD100.42 a barrel by 0615 GMT. US West Texas Intermediate (WTI) crude for April CLc1 was down 0.6 percent at USD95.12 a barrel.
The conflict has dampened sentiment in Japan markets, which had been driven by strong corporate earnings and expectations of expansionary fiscal policy after Prime Minister Sanae Takaichi won a snap election.
In the Nikkei index, there were 72 advancers and 152 laggards.