Japan Stocks end lower in cautious trade

Japan share market finished session lower on Wednesday, 31 March 2021, as investor sentiment was dented by an overnight drop on Wall Street and concerns about a possible fourth wave of coronavirus infections in the country. Meanwhile, selloff fuelled further amid continued concerns over significant losses caused by a U.S. hedge fund Archegos Capital.

At closing bell, the 225-issue Nikkei Stock Average declined 253.90 points, or 0.86%, to 29,178.80. The broader Topix index of all First Section issues on the Tokyo Stock Exchange fell 23.86 points, or 1.21%, to 1,954.

Total 31 sub-indexes of the 33 sector sub-indexes on the Tokyo exchange traded lower, with Banks, Rubber Products, Land Transportation, Metal Products, Pulp & Paper, and Mining issues being notable losers.

Mitsubishi UFJ Financial Group plunged 3.9% after it said the previous day that a European subsidiary of Mitsubishi UFJ Securities Holdings Co. may lose some $300 million from financial transactions related to a U.S. client, joining Nomura Holdings and Swiss banking giant Credit Suisse in the ranks of financial institutions believed to be affected by the hedge fund defaults.

Shares of Nomura in Japan continued to see a third straight day of losses on Wednesday and fell 2.94%. Nomura's stock plunged more than 16% on Monday.

Technology stocks such as silicon wafer producer Shin-Etsu Chemical met with selling following the rise of U.S. interest rates.

ECONOMIC NEWS:- Japan Industrial Production Falls 2.1% On Month In February-Japan industrial production fell a seasonally adjusted 2.1% on month in February, the Ministry of Economy, Trade and Industry said on Wednesday, following the 4.3% jump in January. On a yearly basis, industrial production shed 2.6% after sinking 5.2% in the previous month. Upon the release of the data, the METI maintained its assessment of industrial production, saying that it continues to pick up.

CURRENCY NEWS: The Japanese yen traded at 110.68 per dollar as it remained weaker than levels below 109.2 against the greenback seen last week.

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