Staff of Reuters 3 Minutes to Read (Reuters) – TOKYO, June 30 (Reuters) – On Wednesday, Japanese stocks fell as the highly contagious Delta variation spread across Asia, while the benchmark index lost ground in June because to fears about the economy’s prospects. For the eighth month in a row, the market closed the last trading day of the month in the red, as investors tend to change their holdings at the end of the month. After climbing as much as 0.65 percent earlier in the day, the Nikkei average fell 0.07 percent to settle at 28,791,53, while the broader Topix index fell 0.30 percent to 1,943.57. In June, the Nikkei index fell 0.24 percent, while the Topix index gained 1%. Shares initially followed Wall Street’s overnight gain on Wednesday, but investor purchasing swiftly succumbed to the Japanese markets’ strange pattern of falling on the last trading day of the month since September. Some market participants believe it is due to large investors rebalancing at the end of the month, while others believe it is just a coincidence. “It’s just a strange occurrence. However, because so many people are talking about it, it must have some psychological impact “Tokai Tokyo Securities’ group leader of trading execution, Masato Kogure, stated. As investors assess the progress of vaccination rollouts against an increase in domestic diseases ahead of the Olympics next month, the market flitted inside a range, trailing global markets. Sugi Holding, a drugstore chain operator, slumped 8.37 percent after its quarterly results fell short of market forecasts. Nitto Boseki fell 4.85 percent after one of its owners disclosed plans to sell about 1 million shares, or approximately 2% of the textile company’s outstanding stock. J. Front Retailing’s stock fell 3.62 percent when the department store operator lowered its earnings forecast. After applying for regulatory permission in Japan for an antibody treatment for COVID-19, Chugai Pharmaceutical ended up up 2.37 percent after climbing as high as 7.9 percent. Ushio Inc soared 13.41 percent after the lampmaker raised its earnings prediction for the current fiscal year through March, more than double its previous forecast. Hideyuki Sano and Junko Fujita contributed reporting, and Sherry Jacob-Phillips and Amy Caren edited the piece. Daniel Continue reading
