Japan Nikkei falls on yen's ascent, ahead of 10-day holiday

Japan share market closed lower on Friday, 26 April 2019, as investors opted to secure profits on following soft lead from Wall Street overnight after disappointing company earnings reports. Meanwhile, stronger yen against the dollar and caution ahead of an unprecedented 10 days of holidays beginning this weekend also weighed on the market. Total 21 issues out of 33 subsectors of the Tokyo Stock Exchange declined, with shares in Nonferrous Metals, Metal Products, Oil & Coal Products, Warehousing & Harbor Transportation Services, and Iron & Steel issues being notable losers, whereas Precision Instruments, Marine Transportation, Mining, and Pharmaceutical issues were notable gainers. At closing bell, the 225-issue Nikkei Stock Average lost 0.22%, or 48.85 points, to end at 22,258.73, while the broader Topix index of all First Section issues on the Tokyo Stock Exchange was off 0.15%, or 2.35 points, at 1,617.93.

Investors were adjusting their positions ahead of the long holidays. Japanese investors were mindful of fears of a repeat of the flash crash seen during Tokyo's New Year holidays, which temporarily boosted the yen against the dollar.

Nintendo was down 1.3% as investors opted to square positions before the holidays. Late yesterday, it unveiled its latest earnings results, showing its full-year profit jumping nearly 40% year-on-year to 194 billion yen.

Shares of Advantest dived 8.85% after chip-testing equipment maker said its full-year operating profit for the year to March 2020 will drop 53.6% to 30 billion yen.

ECONOMIC NEWS: Japan jobless rate rises to 2.5% in March -- Japan's jobless rate rose to 2.5% in March on a seasonally adjusted basis, the Ministry of Internal Affairs and Communications said. The job-to-applicant ratio was 1.63 - unchanged.

Japan Industrial output falls at a rapid pace -- Japan's industrial output in March fell 0.9% from the previous month amid slowing demand for exports of automobiles and manufacturing equipment, government data showed Friday. The result, which followed a revised 0.7% rise in February, prompted the ministry to downgrade its assessment of production from "pausing" to being "in a weak tone recently."

CURRENCY NEWS: The Japanese yen appreciated to the mid 111 yen-range against the dollar on Friday. The dollar traded at 111.67 yen in Asian afternoon trade, slightly up from 111.61 yen in New York but still down from 112 yen levels seen earlier this week.

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