Japan Nikkei tumbles on larger US rate hike woes

Japan share market finished session steep lower on Monday, 25 April 2022, extending losing streak for second consecutive day, on tracking weak lead from Wall Street Friday amid growing anxiety for a bigger interest rate hike by the U.S. Federal Reserve.

At closing bell, the 225-issue Nikkei Stock Average declined 514.48 points, or 1.9%, to 26,590.78. The broader Topix index of all First Section issues on the Tokyo Stock Exchange retreated 28.63 points, or 1.5%, to 1,878.52.

Total 32 of 33 TSE issues closed down, with worst performing sectors were Mining, Marine Transportation, Nonferrous Metals, Air Transportation, Machinery, Iron & Steel, and Oil & Coal Products.

Shares of Nissan Motor lost over 5 percent on a report that its top shareholder Renault SA was exploring a potential stake sale.

In other news, the International Monetary Fund's Japan said on Sunday that the decline in the exchange rate of the Japanese currency, the yen, against the US dollar and other currencies could hamper Japan's economy by raising import costs and hurting consumer spending. In recent weeks, the yen has loosened to near 128 to the greenback, from 115 as recently as February.

CURRENCY NEWS: The dollar pared gains to move around 128.20 yen in Tokyo trading Monday. At 5 p.m., the dollar stood at 128.20-20 yen, up from 128.07-07 yen at the same time Friday. It crossed the 129 level last week.

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