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Staff of Reuters 3 Minutes to Read Reuters, TOKYO, July 2 – The Nikkei stock average closed higher on Friday, with gains in export-focused Sony Group and Toyota Motor offset by weakness in chip-related sectors due to a weaker yen, although the index ended the week lower due to fears over new coronavirus cases. After four straight sessions of falls, the Nikkei rallied 0.27 percent to close at 28,783.28, while the wider Topix gained 0.88 percent to 1,956.31. The Nikkei, on the other hand, fell 0.97 percent this week, its first weekly loss in four weeks, while the Topix fell 0.32 percent after increasing previous week. “The weaker yen is supporting shares in automakers as well as other firms, such as Sony,” said Norihiro Fujito, chief investment strategist at Mitsubishi UFJ Morgan Stanley Securities. “However, their gains are limited by the Nikkei’s heavyweights’ poor performance, such as chip-making equipment producers and Fast Retailing. Topix’s higher gains are due to this.” Four government sources indicated on Thursday that Japan is likely to extend coronavirus containment measures in the greater Tokyo area by two weeks or more. The top gainer on the top 30 core Topix was Sony Group, which exports games, cameras, and other electronic household products, surging 3.66 percent as the yen fell to its lowest level since March 2020. Hitachi’s stock increased by 2.1 percent. Following good quarterly sales data from U.S. rivals, automakers Toyota Motor, Honda Motor, Nissan Motor, and Mazda Motor jumped between 1.38 percent and 6.53 percent, indicating that the trend will continue into 2022. Tokyo Electron and Advantest both fell 2.11 percent and 1.32 percent, respectively, in response to overnight declines in the Philadelphia SE Semiconductor index. After a revelation that French prosecutors had begun an inquiry into four fashion retailers suspected of concealing crimes against humanity in China’s Xinjiang region, Fast Retailing, which owns the Uniqlo clothing brand, plummeted 0.89 percent. Daiichi Sankyo was the worst performer among the Topix 30 companies, down 0.52 percent, followed by Seven & I Holdings, which declined 0.38 percent. (Junko Fujita contributed reporting; Aditya Soni and Rashmi Aich edited the piece.)/nRead More

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