Business News

TOKYO, (MILLAT+APP/AFP) – Tokyo’s benchmark index
on Monday snapped a nine-day winning streak as the yen’s uptick hit exporters while Nintendo tumbled seven percent with investors underwhelmed by its latest mobile game.
Shares were hit by profit taking and a stronger yen on concerns about
China-US tensions after Beijing seized a US Navy drone in international waters in the South China Sea.
The tensions pushed traders into the Japanese unit, which is seen as
a safe-haven investment in times of turmoil.
A stronger yen hurts the profitability of Japan’s major exporters,
hitting demand for their shares.
The dollar fell to 117.31 yen in Tokyo, well down from levels above
118 yen seen at the end of last week.
Investors are also watching a two-day Bank of Japan policy meeting
starting Monday, though market consensus is there will be no change to policy.
“The speed of the yen’s fall has been too fast since the currency
surpassed the 115 to the dollar mark,” said Hiroyasu Iida, the head of the investment research centre at Aizawa Securities.
“The direction is still for a weaker yen but there could be a brief
rebound. The BoJ is likely to stay put, but given the yen’s weakness, investors will have to remain wary over the odds of potential tapering, though chances are slim.”
Tokyo’s Nikkei 225 slipped 0.05 percent, or 9.55 points, to end the
day at 19,391.60, ending its longest string of gains since mid-2015.
The broader Topix index of all first-section shares slipped 0.10
percent, or 1.61 points, to 1,549.06.
Nintendo shares dropped 7.06 percent to 24,540 yen, extending a more
than four percent fall Friday as its latest iPhone game, Super Mario Run, met with lukewarm reviews.
Some analysts warned that the nearly $10 price tag to buy the game’s
full version — the initial stages are free — could scare away some customers.
“Investor expectations were very strong,” Hideki Yasuda, an analyst
at Ace Research Institute, told Bloomberg News.