Japan Nikkei edges up with eyes on trade

The Japan share market closed mixed on Monday, 17 June 2019, as risk sentiments were subdued amid simmering trade dispute between the United States and China as well as political tensions in the Middle East. Among TSE'33 subsectors, Mining, and farm and fishery issues led notable advancers, while iron and steel, and electric power and gas issues comprised those that declined the most by the close of play. At closing bell, the 225-issue Nikkei Stock Average inclined 0.03%, or 7.11 points, to 21,124, while the broader Topix index of all First Section issues on the Tokyo Stock Exchange shed 0.45%, or 6.97 points, at 1,539.74.

The Tokyo market made a dismal start following a fallback on Wall Street on Friday. The market was dampened further by selling of semiconductor-related issues prompted by U.S. chipmaker Broadcom Inc.'s forecast of a substantial sales decline for the year ending in October. The Nikkei, however, returned to positive territory in the afternoon. Although the key index lost steam later, it managed to stay above the previous session's closing level for the rest of Monday's trading.

Investors looked ahead to a week in which the Federal Reserve, the Bank of Japan and the Bank of England all set monetary policy. Investors will be scrutinizing the Fed's decision and messaging on Wednesday for signals on the chances of rates cuts ahead. Meanwhile, U.S. Commerce Secretary Wilbur Ross reiterated that the prospect of a major trade deal is unlikely to emerge from a possible meeting between President Donald Trump and Chinese President Xi Jinping at the Group of 20 summit in Osaka this month.

Shares of Apple supplier Japan Display plunged 7% after the company announced that Taiwanese flat screen maker TPK Holding had decided against investing in it.

Shopping website operator Enigmo jumped 9%, following the firm's announcements of a stock split plan and rosy earnings estimates for February-April.

CURRENCY NEWS: Japanese yen marginally depreciated against greenback on Monday. The Japanese yen traded at 108.56 against the greenback after seeing levels below 108.2 in the previous trading week.

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