Japan Market falls on concerns over 2nd wave of virus

Japan share market finished session lower on Wednesday, 13 May 2020, as risk aversion selloff triggered on tracking steep drop in Street overnight amid mounting concerns over a second wave of coronavirus cases. At closing bell, the 225-issue Nikkei Stock Average declined 99.43 points, or 0.49%, to 20,267.05. The broader Topix index of all First Section issues on the Tokyo Stock Exchange dropped 2.03 points, or 0.14%, at 1,474.69.

Total 21 issues of 33 industry category of Topix index ended in negative territory, with Insurance, Iron & Steel, Air Transportation, Pulp & Paper, Transportation Equipment, Nonferrous Metals, and Marine Transportation issues being notable losers, while Precision Instruments, Pharmaceutical, and Rubber Products issues were notable gainers.

Developments on the coronavirus front likely continued to weigh on investor sentiment. Overnight, Wall Street's all three major indexes dropped about 2% following a warning from the Dr. Anthony Fauci, the top infectious disease expert in the United States, that premature moves to reopen the economy could lead to a second wave of cases and set back economic recovery.

In Asia, where the coronavirus first hit, several countries including China and South Korea have experienced an uptick in cases after restrictions were eased.

Globally, more than 4.2 million people have been infected while at least 287,158 lives have been taken, according to data compiled by Johns Hopkins University.

Investors also kept a watch on simmering U.S.-China tensions after U.S. President Donald Trump ordered the main federal government pension fund not to invest in Chinese companies.

ECONOMIC NEWS:- Japan Posts Y1,971.0 Billion Current Account Surplus In March-- Japan posted a current account surplus of 1,971.0 billion yen in March, the Ministry of Finance said on Wednesday, down 32.1% on year, down from the 3,168.8 billion yen surplus in February. The trade balance showed a surplus of 103.1 billion yen, down 85.2% on year. Exports sank an annual 12.2% to 6,197.4 billion yen, while imports fell 4.2% to 6,094.3 billion yen. The capital account showed a deficit of 44.1 billion yen and the financial account saw a surplus of 3,209.6 billion yen.

CURRENCY: The U.S. dollar index, which tracks the greenback against a basket of its peers, was last at 100.022 after trading above and below the 100 mark so far this week. The Japanese yen traded at 107.19 per dollar, off levels above 107.4 seen yesterday.

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