Japan Stocks dip on profit booking

The Japan share market finished session lower on Friday, 20 December 2019, as investors continued withdrawing profits after Japanese shares hit a 14-month high earlier this week. Meanwhile, selloff fuelled by yen appreciation against greenback and ahead of the year-end holiday. At closing bell, the 225-issue Nikkei Stock Average declined 48.22 points, or 0.2%, to 23,816.63, while the broader Topix index of all First Section issues on the Tokyo Stock Exchange dropped 3.04 points, or 0.18%, at 1,733.07. For the week, the Nikkei fell about 0.9% after three weeks of gains.

Total 16 issues of the 33 industry category of Topix index dived into negative territory, with Pharmaceutical, Transportation Equipment, Iron & Steel, Electric Power & Gas, and Machinery issues being notable losers, while Fishery, Agriculture & Forestry, Mining, Pulp & Paper, and Marine Transportation issues were notable gainers.

Shares of exporters particularly auto makets hit by the dollar's retreat overnight from a near six-month high against the yen and after a new North American trade deal was passed in the U.S. House of Representatives on Thursday. The new deal included a requirement that 75% of auto parts come from North America, up from the previous 62.5% required by NAFTA. Sony Corp, one of the strongest performers over the past month, dropped 1.7%. Fanuc lost 2.2%, while Keyence shed 0.6%. Toyota Motor Corp and Nissan Motor shed 1.1% each, while Suzuki Motor Corp and Mazda Motor Corp both dropped 0.8%. Nuflare Technology Inc dropped 9% after Toshiba Corp said it had no intention of accepting Hoya Corp's sweeter bid for Nuflare or raising its own bid.

Homebuilder Hosoda Corp soared 17.1% after condominium builder Haseko Corp announced a tender offer on Hosoda. Haseko ended flat.

ECONOMIC NEWS: Japan CPI up 0.5% in November-- Japan's consumer price inflation edged higher in November thanks to sales tax hike but was still below the Central Bank's target. Core inflation that excludes fresh food rose to 0.5% in November from 0.4% in October, data from the Ministry of Internal Affairs showed Friday.

CURRENCY NEWS: The Japanese yen, often viewed as a safe-haven currency in times of economic uncertainty, appreciated against greenback and other major currencies. The Japanese yen traded at 109.26 against the dollar, strengthening from levels above 109.5 earlier.

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