Japan Nikkei tumbles on Middle East tensions

Japan stock market finished session significantly lower on Monday, 15 April 2024, as risk aversion selloff triggered on tracking soft lead from Wall Street last Friday. Market sentiment was also weighed down by heightening concerns over geopolitical tensions in the Middle East following Iran's retaliatory missile and drone attack against Israel over the weekend.

However, market losses capped due to yen depreciation to fresh 34-year low against greenback, raising the prospect of higher earnings for Japanese exporters when repatriating overseas profits.

The 225-issue Nikkei Stock Average index dropped 290.75 points, or 0.74%, to finish at 39,232.80. The broader Topix index of all First Section issues on the Tokyo Stock Exchange retreated 6.44 points, 0.23%, to 2,753.20.

Total 17 of 33 TSE sectors declined, with Pharmaceutical, Air Transportation, Information & Communication, Other Financial Business, Electric Appliances, and Real Estate issues being notable losers, while Electric Power & Gas, Marine Transportation, Nonferrous Metals, and Oil & Coal Products issues were notable gainers.

Shares in Japanese banks and brokerages slid following lacklustre earnings reports from the likes of JPMorgan Chase and Wells Fargo. Tech-related stocks declined on tracking their US peers lower. Chip-making equipment giant Tokyo Electron dropped 1.3%.Chip-testing machinery maker Advantest dropped 2.2%.

ECONOMIC NEWS: Japan Core Machine Orders Surge 7.7% In February-The value of core machine orders in Japan jumped by a seasonally adjusted 7.7% on month in February, the Cabinet Office said on Monday - coming in at 886.6 billion yen. On a yearly basis, core machine orders slipped 1.8% - but that also beat forecasts for a decline of 5.0% after slumping 10.9% in the previous month. Government orders surged 12.1% on month and 58.6% on year to 527.0 billion yen, while orders from overseas rose 0.7% on month and 8.6% on year to 1,238.4 billion yen. For the first quarter of 2024, core machine orders are seen higher by 4.9% on quarter and down 0.1% on year at 2,637.4 billion yen. The total value of machinery orders received by 280 manufacturers operating in Japan increased 2.1% on month and 8.8% on year in February, at 2,803.4 billion yen.

CURRENCY NEWS: Japanese yen notched a fresh 34-year low in the upper 153 level per greenback on Monday amid receding expectations that the U.S. Federal Reserve would cut interest rates soon following last week's stronger-than-expected inflation data. At 5 p.m., the yen quoted at 153.71 per US dollar compared to 153.24 in Tokyo at 5 p.m. on last Friday.

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