Japan Nikkei falls 0.94%

Japan share market finished session lower on Tuesday, 24 May 2022, after moving in a narrow band mostly within negative territory throughout the day, as sentiment was hurt by latest survey showing activity in the country's manufacturing sector grew at the slowest pace in three months in May.

Meanwhile, selloff was also fueled after social media platform Snap warned that it would miss earnings forecasts for the current quarter due to a deteriorating macroeconomic environment. Also weighing sentiments was concern about the spread of Covid-19 in China and its impact on the economy.

At closing bell, the 225-issue Nikkei Stock Average fell 253.38 points, or 0.94%, to 26,748.14. The broader Topix index of all First Section issues on the Tokyo Stock Exchange dropped 16.31 points, or 0.86%, to 1,87826.

Growth stocks closed down. Nintendo eased 0.1%, SoftBank Group fell 1.6%, and Uniqlo operator Fast Retailing slipped 1%. TDK dropped 1.6%, Advantest declined 2.1%, and Sony dropped 0.7%. Toyota Motor dipped 0.6%, after the automaker said Tuesday it plans to slash its global production plan for June due to a semiconductor shortage.

Shares of banks and financials were up after their Wall Street peers rallied. Mitsubishi UFJ Financial Group rose 0.7%.

Travel related stocks gained, supported by hopes for the resumption of full-scale economic activities in Japan, with people expected to spend money amid a downward trend in COVID-19 cases and further easing of restrictions. Air carrier ANA Holdings ticked up 0.2% and and Japan Airlines climbed 1.07%. Shipping firm Nippon Yusen added 1.27%.

ECONOMIC NEWS: The au Jibun Bank Flash Japan Manufacturing Purchasing Managers' Index (PMI) slipped to a seasonally adjusted 53.2 in May from a final 53.5 in April, as supply bottlenecks due to parts shortages and China's COVID-19 lockdowns caused output and new orders growth to slow. The 50-mark separates contraction from expansion. The au Jibun Bank Flash Services PMI Index improved to a seasonally adjusted 51.7 in May from the prior month's 50.7 final. As a result, the au Jibun Bank Flash Japan Composite PMI, which is calculated by using both manufacturing and services, rose to 51.4 from a final of 51.1 in April.

CURRENCY NEWS: The dollar was at 127.69 yen, compared with 127.90 yen seen Monday in New York.

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