Japan Nikkei ends tad higher

Headline indices of the Japan share market closed marginal higher after trimming intraday gains on Friday, 22 March 2019, as early rallies on Wall Street overnight solid lead offset by the yen's appreciation against the U.S. dollar. At closing bell, the 225-issue Nikkei Stock Average added 18.42 points, or 0.09%, at 21,627.34. The broader Topix index of all First Section issues on the Tokyo Stock Exchange rose 2.72 points, or 0.17%, at 1,617.11. Japan markets were closed on Thursday for a national holiday.

Japanese shares received solid support from the US, but a higher yen against the dollar compared with the levels on Wednesday weighing on the market. On Wall Street, the Dow ended up 0.8% at 25,962.51. The dollar fetched 110.85 yen in Asian trade, little changed from 110.82 yen in New York on Thursday but lower than 111.55 yen in Tokyo on Wednesday.

Total 25 subsectors of the 33 subsectors of the Tokyo Stock Exchange inclined, with shares in Oil & Coal Products, Mining, Marine Transportation, Other Financial Business, Machinery, and Nonferrous Metals issues being notable gainers, whereas Pharmaceutical, Fishery, Agriculture & Forestry, Insurance, and Banks issues were notable losers.

Japanese government bond (JGB) yields plunged to their lowest since November 2016 on Friday after the Federal Reserve abruptly abandoned a tightening policy bias, sending U.S. bond yields sharply lower. Ten-year JGB futures gained 0.23 point to 152.96 yen in afternoon trade, with a trading volume of 18,720 lots.

ECONOMIC NEWS: Japan Overall Inflation Up 0.2% On Year In February -- Japan overall nationwide inflation was up 0.2 percent on year in February, the Ministry of Internal Affairs and Communications said on Friday, unchanged from the January reading. Japan's core consumer price index (CPI), which includes oil products but excludes volatile fresh food costs, rose 0.7% in February from a year earlier, according to the Ministry of Internal Affairs and Communications data, as the world's third-largest economy continues its years-long battle to stoke inflation. The slowdown from January's 0.8% increase was due largely to a 1.3% drop in gasoline prices, which was the first year-on-year decline since November 2016, the data showed.

Japan Nikkei Manufacturing PMI Steady At 48.9 In March -- Japan manufacturing sector continued to contract at a steady pace with a manufacturing PMI score of 48.9, the latest survey from Nikkei revealed on Friday. That's unchanged from the February reading and it remains beneath the boom-or-bust line of 50 that separates expansion from contraction. Individually, there were further production cutbacks amid weaker new order inflows, while business confidence remained below the long-term average.

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