Japan Market falls on U.S. recession fears

Japan share market finished lower for second straight session on Thursday, 08 December 2022, as risk sentiments were bearish on tracking soft cues from Wall Street overnight, growing fears over a potential US recession, and yen appreciation against greenback.

At closing bell, the 225-issue Nikkei Stock Average index declined 1111.97 points, or 0.4%, to 27,574.43. The broader Topix index of all First Section issues on the Tokyo Stock Exchange was down 6.81 points, or 0.35%, to 1,941.50.

Total 24 of 33 TSE sectors closed lower, with Electric Appliances, Mining, Electric Power & Gas, Other Financial Business, Banks, and Oil & Coal Products issues being notable losers. On the other side, Marine Transportation and Pharmaceutical issues were notable gainers.

Shares of export-oriented companies stumbled as a firm yen erodes companies' profits that have been earned overseas when repatriated. Among export-related issues, Tokyo Electron fell 0.9% to 44,400 yen, and chipmaker Murata Manufacturing sank 1.8% to 7,214 yen.

Nissan ended down 0.5% at 461.6 yen after reports said talks on rebalancing the alliance between the auto giant and its French partner Renault had not yet reached a deal.

Nintendo fell 1.3% to 5,706 yen after a Microsoft executive said the hugely popular Call of Duty game franchise would become available on Nintendo's Switch console if the acquisition of the game's developer went ahead.

ECONOMIC NEWS: Japan posted a current account deficit of 64.1 billion yen in October, the Ministry of Finance reported. Exports were up 26.9% on year at 8.989 trillion yen, while imports spiked an annual 56.9% to 10.864 trillion yen for a trade deficit of 1.875 trillion yen. The capital account showed a deficit of 12.9 billion yen, while the financial account saw a surplus of 481.3 billion yen.

Japan's gross domestic product contracted 0.8% on year in the third quarter of 2022, the Cabinet Office reported. On a seasonally adjusted quarterly basis, GDP fell 0.2% - again beating forecasts for a decline of 0.3% after climbing 1.1% in the three months prior. Capital expenditure was up 1.5% on quarter, in line with expectations and down from 2.4% in the second quarter. External demand was down 0.6% on quarter versus forecasts for a fall of 0.7% after adding 0.2% in Q2. Private consumption rose 0.1%, shy of forecasts for an increase of 0.3% after rising 1.2% in the previous quarter. CURRENCY NEWS: The dollar bought 136.87 yen in Asian trade, against 136.57 yen in New York and 137.31 yen in Tokyo on Wednesday.

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