Japan Nikkei extends losses to third straight session

Japan share market closed down for the third straight session on Friday, 19 February 2021, as profit booking continued on following a negative lead on Wall Street overnight. Worries about domestic inflation also weighed on the market.

At closing bell, the 225-issue Nikkei Stock Average dropped 218.17 points, or 0.72%, to 30,017.92. The broader Topix index of all First Section issues on the Tokyo Stock Exchange declined 12.96 points, or 0.67%, to 1,928.95. for the week, the Nikkei rose 1.7% while Topix dropped 0.25%.

Fast Retailing, which has the highest weight in the Nikkei, fell 2.4%, as investors took profits following its almost 10% rise this week.

Online brokerage Monex tumbled 10.4% after having more doubled since the start of month by Thursday.

Some travel-related shares also slipped after gains earlier this week following the start of the country's COVID-19 vaccination programme. ANA Holdings fell 3.9%, while Japan Airlines fell 3.7%. Central Japan Railway lost 3.7%.

ECONOMIC NEWS: Japan's core consumer prices declined 0.6% in January as compared with a year earlier, according to data released Friday by the country's Statistics Bureau.

CURRENCY NEWS: The Japanese yen traded at 105.63 per dollar, stronger than levels above 106 against the greenback seen earlier this week.

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