Japanese shares end lower as China stocks, U.S. bond yields weigh

  • Reuters
  • Stock Market News
Japanese shares end lower as China stocks, U.S. bond yields weigh

TOKYO, March 23 (Reuters) - Japanese shares snapped early gains to end lower on Tuesday, tracking lacklustre performance in Chinese markets as investors locked in profit on a recent rally in some mainland firms, while the volatility of U.S. bond yields also dampened risk appetite.

The Nikkei share average .N225 fell 0.61% to close at 28,995.92, while the broader Topix .TOPX declined 0.94% to 1,971.48.

"The retreat in the afternoon is simply due to the outside factors, such as declines in China stocks and U.S. futures," said Masahiro Ichikawa, chief market strategist at Sumitomo Mitsui DS Asset Management.

"Investors held their bets as they are still cautious about the direction of the U.S. bond yields."

Treasury yields dipped on Monday, but held near more than one-year highs as investors bet on a faster U.S. economic recovery and higher inflation pressures. US/

Nikkei heavyweights SoftBank Group 9984.T fell 0.9% and Fast Retailing 9983.T lost 0.1%.

Persistent worries of policy tightening in China also continued to weigh on high-flying sectors and stocks with lofty valuations as investors turned cautious.

Companies that rely on China slumped, with robot maker Fanuc 6954.T losing 1.53% and construction machinery maker Komatsu 6301.T shedding 1.24%.

Japan Exchange Group 8697.T jumped 2.78% after the operator of the Tokyo Stock Exchange raised its full-year net profit forecast to 51.5 billion yen ($473.17 million) from 45.5 billion yen. that gained the most among the top 30 core Topix names were Nintendo 7974.T up 1.59 %, followed by Seven & i Holdings 3382.T , up 1.23%.

Mitsubishi UFJ Financial Group 8306.T and Central Japan Railway 9022.T , which lost more than 3% each, were the worst performers among the Topix 30.

The largest percentage gainers in the Nikkei index were Japan Exchange Group, followed by Canon 7751.T gaining 1.95 % and Shionogi & Co 4507.T up 1.76%.

Kawasaki Kisen Kaisha 9107.T , down 7.21 %, was the biggest loser in the Nikkei, followed by Rakuten 4755.T losing 6.69 % and Mitsui OSK Lines 9104.T falling 5.82 %.

Add Chart to Comment

Comment Guidelines

We encourage you to use comments to engage with users, share your perspective and ask questions of authors and each other. However, in order to maintain the high level of discourse we’ve all come to value and expect, please keep the following criteria in mind: 

  • Enrich the conversation
  • Stay focused and on track. Only post material that’s relevant to the topic being discussed.
  • Be respectful. Even negative opinions can be framed positively and diplomatically.
  •  Use standard writing style. Include punctuation and upper and lower cases.
  • NOTE: Spam and/or promotional messages and links within a comment will be removed
  • Avoid profanity, slander or personal attacks directed at an author or another user.
  • Don’t Monopolize the Conversation. We appreciate passion and conviction, but we also believe strongly in giving everyone a chance to air their thoughts. Therefore, in addition to civil interaction, we expect commenters to offer their opinions succinctly and thoughtfully, but not so repeatedly that others are annoyed or offended. If we receive complaints about individuals who take over a thread or forum, we reserve the right to ban them from the site, without recourse.
  • Only English comments will be allowed.

Perpetrators of spam or abuse will be deleted from the site and prohibited from future registration at Investing.com’s discretion.

Drop an image here or Supported formats: *.jpg, *.png, *.gif up to 5mb

Error: File type not supported

Drop an image here or

100
Please try another search