Japan Market tumbles on concerns over rising global COVID-19 cases

Japan share market finished session deep in the red on Monday, 29 June 2020, on tracking Wall Street sharp retreat on Friday after accelerating virus spread in the U.S. and as the number of confirmed COVID-19 infection cases across the globe topped the 10 million mark over the weekend. Meanwhile, weaker than expected domestic retail sales for May and yen appreciation against greenback also fueled selloff.

At closing bell, the 225-issue Nikkei Stock Average tumbled 517.04 points, or 2.3%, to 21,995.04. The broader Topix index of all First Section issues on the Tokyo Stock Exchange retreated 28.15 points, or 1.78%, at 1,549.22.

All industrial categories declined, with highly cyclical iron and steel, mining and air transport indexes were among the worst-performers on the main bourse.

The global death toll from COVID-19 reached half a million people on Sunday, with one quarter of those in the United States, where cases have surged in a handful of southern and western states. In the U.S., coronavirus cases recently surged by more than 45,000 in a day, according to John Hopkins University data. The recent spike in cases stateside has led some states such as Texas and Florida to re-close some businesses.

ECONOMIC NEWS: Japan Retail Sales Down 12.3% On Year In May- Japan retail sales were down 12.3% on year in May, the Ministry of Economy, Trade and Industry said on Monday, following the 13.7% decline in the previous month. On a monthly basis, retail sales advanced a seasonally adjusted 2.1% on month after sinking a downwardly revised 9.9% in April (originally -9.6%).

CURRENCY: The Japanese yen traded at 107.15 per dollar seeing sharp moves between levels below 106.8 and above 107.2 against the greenback last week.

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