Business News

TOKYO, Nov 2, (APP/AFP) – Tokyo shares closed lower Wednesday, extending a global selloff sparked by an opinion poll that put Donald Trump slightly ahead of his market-favoured Democratic rival Hillary Clinton in the US presidential race. The ABC News/Washington Post tracking poll found Trump edging ahead of Democratic rival Hillary Clinton — by one point — for the first time since May. Markets globally had been buoyed by a commanding lead for Clinton going into the November 8 vote but they have been jolted since news Friday that the FBI was again looking into her use of private emails while secretary of state. The former First Lady is considered by most investors to be a safer, more stable bet than Trump, who is seen as a loose cannon. “The Trump risk is in revival,” said Chihiro Ohta, a Tokyo-based senior strategist at SMBC Nikko Securities Inc. “With Trump, there always follows an uneasiness over whether policies will be managed properly in the US, and given the holiday tomorrow in Japan, there’s no need to build positions at an uncertain time like this.” Tokyo’s benchmark Nikkei 225 index lost 1.76 percent, or 307.72 points, to end at 17,134.68, while the Topix index of all first-section issues fell 1.78 percent, or 24.75 points, to 1,368.44. Japan’s financial markets are closed Thursday for a public holiday.