Japan’s Nikkei tracks Wall St weakness to end at near 10-month low

Japan’s Nikkei share average closed at its lowest level in almost 10 months in the first trading session of 2023, tracking Wall Street’s weak finish overnight, while the yen’s strength against the dollar also weighed on sentiment, Reuters reported.
The Nikkei .N225 fell 1.45% to 25,716.86 on Wednesday, its lowest close since March 15. The broader Topix .TOPX lost 1.25% to 1,868.15.
Wall Street’s main indexes closed lower overnight, while investors worried about the U.S. Federal Reserve’s interest-rate hike path as they awaited minutes from its December policy meeting. .N
In Japan, clothing brand Uniqlo’s owner Fast Retailing 9983.T lost 1.24%, dragging the Nikkei the most, while chip related Advantest 6857.T and Tokyo Electron 8035.T fell 2.48% and 1.21%, respectively.
Drugmakers Daiichi Sankyo 4568.T tanked 5.76% and Eisai 4523.T slipped 6.01%.
On top of Wall Street weakness, the yen’s gain against the dollar also weighed on investor sentiment, Maki Sawada, strategist at Nomura Securities, told reporters.
The yen rose to a seven-month high against the greenback on Tuesday on expectations that the Bank of Japan might move away from its ultra-easy monetary policy.
All but three industry sub-indexes fell. The banking sector .IBNKS.T jumped 2.67% to become the top gainer among the 33 industry groups, while insurance firms .IINSUE.T gained 0.75%. The brokerage sector inched up 0.06%.
Of the 225 Nikkei components, 30 stocks rose and 193 declined, while two were flat.
The volume of shares traded on the Tokyo Stock Exchange’s main board was 1.3 billion, compared to the average of 1.18 billion in the past 30 days.