Japan Stocks end mixed on geopolitical worries

Japanese share market finished session mixed on Wednesday, 16 November 2022, as risk sentiments turned downbeat on geopolitical risks after blasts in Poland that Ukraine and Polish authorities said were caused by Russian-made missiles.

However, market recouped most of losses after U.S. President Joe Biden said the missile was unlikely to have been fired from Russia.

At closing bell, the 225-issue Nikkei Stock Average index added 38.13 points, or 0.14%, to 28,028.30. The broader Topix index of all First Section issues on the Tokyo Stock Exchange was down 0.93 point, or 0.05%, to 1,963.29.

Total 18 of 33 TSE sectors closed up, with Mining (up 2.1%), Wholesale Trade (up 1.2%), Warehousing & Harbor Transportation Services (up 1%), and Information & Communication (up 0.9%) issues being notable gainers. Insurance (down 3.3%), Precision Instruments (down 1.9%), and Securities & Commodities Futures (down 1.4%) were notable losers.

NATO member Poland said on Wednesday that a Russian-made rocket killed two people in eastern Poland near Ukraine, and it summoned Russia's ambassador to Warsaw for an explanation after Moscow denied it was responsible.

US President Joe Biden said the United States and its NATO allies were investigating the blast but early information suggested it may not have been caused by a missile fired from Russia.

ECONOMIC NEWS: Japan's machinery orders unexpectedly fell in September in a sign the global economic slowdown and higher import costs are weighing on firms' capital spending plans. Core orders, a highly volatile data series regarded as a barometer of capital expenditure in the coming six to nine months, fell 4.6% in September from the previous month, Cabinet Office data showed. That followed a 5.8% drop in August.

Compared with a year earlier, core orders, which exclude volatile numbers from shipping and electric utilities, grew 2.9% in September, the data found. Manufacturers surveyed by the Cabinet Office are expecting core orders to rise 3.6% in October-December, after a 1.6% drop in the previous quarter.

The government downgraded its view on machinery orders saying the recovery is stalling. The machinery orders data comes a day after figures showed Japan's economy unexpectedly shrank in the third quarter.

CURRENCY NEWS: The Japanese Yen went lower on more domestic data revealing a sluggish economy outweighing diminished Treasury yields amid geopolitical concerns.

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