Japan Stocks end mixed

Headline indices of the Japan share market closed mixed on Tuesday, 05 February 2019, as overnight strength on Wall Street offset by investors opting for profits on caution ahead of corporate earnings reports and US President Donald Trump's State of the Union address due on Tuesday. Total 22 sub-indexes out of 33 sub-indexes of TOPIX closed in green terrain, with shares in Fishery, Agriculture & Forestry, Textiles & Apparels, Nonferrous Metals, Electric Power & Gas, Wholesale Trade, and Chemicals issues being notable gainers, whereas Oil & Coal Products, Pharmaceutical, and Information & Communication issues were in red terrain. At closing bell, the 225-issue Nikkei index fell 39.32 points, or 0.19%, at 20,844.45. The broader Topix index of all First Section issues on the Tokyo Stock Exchange gained 1.55 points, or 0.1%, to 1,582.88.

Tokyo shares traded mixed on caution ahead of corporate earnings reports, with Toyota up 0.75% ahead of its earnings report later this week, while small car specialist Suzuki was up 0.40% ahead of its earnings later Tuesday. Mobile phone carrier SoftBank Corp was flat at 1,353 yen ahead of its earnings report due later Tuesday. Panasonic dropped 3.5% after a brokerage house revised down its view of the shares' value and after the electronics firm said its nine months to December net profit declined 13% year-on-year.

 

ECONOMIC NEWS: Japan services sector climbed at a stronger pace in December, the latest survey from Nikkei revealed on Tuesday with a services PMI score of 51.6. That's up from 51.0 in November and it moves farther above the boom-or-bust line of 50 that separates expansion from contraction. Individually, export sales declined, although the 12-month outlook remained positive. Investment plans and forecasts of improved underlying demand underpinned optimism during January.

CURRENCY NEWS: Japanese yen depreciated around the 100 yen zone against greenback on Tuesday. The dollar was quoted at 109.99-110.00 yen compared with 109.87-97 yen in New York and 109.83-85 yen on Monday in Tokyo. The euro, meanwhile, fetched 125.78-79 yen against 125.63-73 yen in New York and 125.67-71 yen in late Monday afternoon trade in Tokyo.

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