Staff of Reuters 3 Minutes to Read (Reuters) – TOKYO, July 8 (Reuters) – On Thursday, Japanese stocks slumped as the country’s intention to reintroduce a state of emergency to combat a COVID comeback drew criticism. Concerns about an economic slowdown have been fueled by 19 diseases. The Nikkei stock average fell 0.88 percent to 28,118.03, its lowest closing in over two weeks, while the Topix index fell 0.90 percent to 1,920.32. According to a key minister, Japan is ready to impose its fourth state of emergency for Tokyo, which will last until the end of the Olympics. The Tokyo area is currently subject to less stringent “quasi emergency” restrictions. Restaurants will be urged to stop serving alcohol as a result of the new limitations, according to Economy Minister Yasutoshi Nishimura. “One reason investors are apprehensive to buy Japanese equities is the restoration of state of emergency,” said Shigetoshi Kamada, general manager of Tachibana Securities’ research department. The Asahi daily reported on Thursday that Olympic organizers are planning to ban all spectators from the Games, which will take place from July 23 to August 8. “The Olympics could have a detrimental impact on the stock market. It may take the sting out of the market if it can be held successfully without spreading the sickness “Yusuke Maeyama, a researcher at NLI Research, echoed this sentiment. Traders were leery of selling Exchange Traded Funds (ETFs) to get cash for dividend payments in the near future. On Thursday and Friday, analysts predict a total selling of around 800 billion yen. Isetan Mitsukoshi Holdings and Marui Group, both retailers, lost 3.1 percent and 2%, respectively. After a report stated Showa Denko planned to sell its underperforming lead-acid battery operations to Japanese private equity firm Advantage Partners, the materials maker’s stock dropped 1.9 percent. Following encouraging earnings, supermarket operator Aeon temporarily soared before surrendering gains to finish 0.8 percent lower. After the Nikkei business daily revealed that Daikin Industries had discovered a refrigerant for electric vehicles that might increase their range by up to 50%, the stock rose 3.7 percent. Junko Fujita and Hideyuki Sano contributed reporting, and Subhranshu Sahu and Amy Caren edited the piece. Daniel/n
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