Japan Nikkei tumbles to 8-month low on virus woes

Japan stocks were mostly down on Friday, 20 August 2021, dragging down the Nikkei index to its lowest level since late December, on uncertainty over economic growth due to surge of fast-spreading Delta variant of COVID-19 infections across Japan.

At closing bell, the 225-issue Nikkei Stock Average declined 267.92 points, or 0.98%, to 27,013.25. The broader Topix index of all First Section issues on the Tokyo Stock Exchange dropped 16.51 points, or 0.87%, to 1,880.68. For the week, Nikkei shed 3.4%.

Tokyo stocks extended selloff on concerns that the fast-spreading Delta variant of COVID-19 could delay an economic recovery. Japan has reported record new virus cases in recent days and the government has expanded and extended virus states of emergency.

Shares of automakers tumbled, with Toyota led losses, down 4.1%, after slashing global production for September by 40% from its previous plan. Honda Motor lost 4.84% and Nissan Motor plunged 7.25%. Toyota's affiliates Denso tumbled 8.83% while Aisin lost 5.28%.

Defensive shares shined, with food maker Ajinomoto up 2.7%, while Tokyo Electric Power Co rose 2.5% and drug maker Daiichi Sankyo grew 2.4%.

ECONOMIC NEWS: Japan's core consumer price index that excludes fresh food was down 0.2 percent on-year in July, with the pace of decline smaller than a 0.5 percent fall in June, according to data released by the internal affairs ministry.

CURRENCY NEWS: The dollar fetched 109.61 yen in Asian trade, against 109.72 yen in New York late Thursday.

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