Japan Nikkei falls on profit booking as virus cases soar

Japan share market finished session lower on Wednesday, 18 November 2020, as investors elected to book profit after touching 29-year high yesterday after the Japanese capital logged a record daily number of coronavirus cases. Meanwhile, negative sentiment was also generated in reaction to the safe-haven yen appreciation against greenback following the negative cues from Wall Street overnight.

At closing bell, the 225-issue Nikkei Stock Average declined 286.48 points, or 1.1%, to 25,728.14. The broader Topix index of all First Section issues on the Tokyo Stock Exchange fell 14.01 points, or 0.81%, to 1,720.65.

Total 31 sector sub-indexes of the 33 sector sub-indexes on the Tokyo exchange traded lower, with Nonferrous Metals, Air Transportation, Marine Transportation, Transportation Equipment, Banks, and Iron & Steel sectors being notable losers.

In economic news, Japan posted a merchandise trade surplus of 872.899 billion yen in October, the Ministry of Finance said on Wednesday, following the surplus of 675 billion yen in September. Exports were down 0.2% on year at 6.566 trillion yen, following the 4.9% drop in the previous month. Imports were down an annual 13.3% at 5.693 trillion yen following the 17.2% tumble a month earlier.

CURRENCY NEWS: The Japanese yen strengthened against greenback on Wednesday. It was quoted at 103.85 per dollar, as compared to levels above 104.5 earlier.

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