Japan Nikkei tumbles on downbeat earnings

Japan stock market finished session down on Thursday, 28 October 2021, as profit booking triggered on tracking an overnight drop on the Wall Street. Meanwhile, selloff pressure intensified amid disappointed quarterly earnings announcement from some major Japanese manufacturers and on caution before Sunday's general election.

At closing bell, the 225-issue Nikkei Stock Average fell 278.15 points, or 0.96%, to 28,820.09. The broader Topix index of all First Section issues on the Tokyo Stock Exchange dropped 14.15 points, or 0.17%, to 2,834.88. Trading volume turnover on the main section stood at 2.21 billion shares worth 5.07 trillion yen.

Total 24 of 33 industry groups of the Topix ended down, with worst performing sector were Mining (down 4.1%), Oil & Coal Products (down 3.3%), Iron & Steel (down 3.2%), Insurance (down 1.8%), Precision Instruments (down 1.8%), and Nonferrous Metals (down 1.5%), while best performing issues included Air Transportation (up 0.6%), Fishery, Agriculture & Forestry (up 0.5%), Chemicals (up 0.5%), and Metal Products (up 0.5%) sectors.

Fanuc shares tumbled after industrial robot maker revised down its profit forecast for the fiscal year through March, due to uncertainties linked to the global microchip shortage.

Fujitsu share dropped after supply delays of components such as semiconductors left its July-September net profit short of market expectations.

Hitachi shares closed down after it trimmed its full-year operating profit forecast due to a lack of semiconductors.

ECONOMIC NEWS: Bank Of Japan Keeps Policy On Hold- The Bank of Japan left its key short-term interest rate unchanged at -0.1% and kept the target for the 10-year government bond yield at around 0% during its October meeting by an 8-1 vote. The Bank will purchase a necessary amount of Japanese government bonds (JGBs) without setting an upper limit so that 10-year JGB yields will remain at around zero%. The Bank stated that it will continue with Quantitative and Qualitative Monetary Easing (QQE) with Yield Curve Control, aiming to achieve the price stability target of 2%, as long as it is necessary for maintaining that target in a stable manner. It will continue expanding the monetary base until the year-on-year rate of increase in the observed consumer price index (CPI, all items less fresh food) exceeds 2% and stays above the target in a stable manner. For the time being, the Bank will closely monitor the impact of the novel coronavirus (COVID19) and will not hesitate to take additional easing measures if necessary, and also it expects short- and long-term policy interest rates to remain at their present or lower levels.

Japan Retail Sales Down 0.6% On Year In September- Japan retail sales was down 0.6% on year in September, the Ministry of Economy, Trade and Industry said on Thursday, coming in at 12.041 trillion yen, following the 3.2% yearly drop in August. Wholesale sales were up 8.7% on year at 34,386 trillion yen, while sales from large-scale retailers jumped an annual 15.5% to 11.187 trillion yen. For the third quarter of 2021, the value or retail sales eased 0.4% on year at 36.794 trillion yen.

CURRENCY NEWS: The Japanese yen appreciated to mid-113 level against greenback on Thursday. The Japanese yen traded at 113.53 per dollar, stronger then levels above 114 seen earlier in the week.

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