logo
Japan's Nikkei ends flat as election, tariff worries overshadow chip stocks' gains

Japan's Nikkei ends flat as election, tariff worries overshadow chip stocks' gains

TOKYO: Japan's Nikkei share average ended flat on Wednesday, as concerns surrounding the elections to the upper house and the fate of trade negotiations with the United States overshadowed gains from chip-related shares.
The Nikkei inched 0.04% lower at 39,663.4. The broader Topix fell 0.21% to 2,819.4.
'Investors have excuses for not buying or selling stocks,' said Shigetoshi Kamada, general manager at the research department at Tachibana Securities.
'They are cautiously awaiting the outcome of the upper house election, while the outlook of the trade talks between is not clear even as the deadline approaches.'
Opinion surveys suggest Prime Minister Shigeru Ishiba's coalition may lose its majority in the elections scheduled for July 20, forcing it to court an array of smaller parties pushing for easier fiscal and monetary policy.
Japan's Nikkei falls for 3rd day as trade impasse, election weigh on sentiment
Chip-related heavyweights Tokyo Electron and Advantest rose 1.75% and 0.64%, respectively, to track Nvidia's 4% gain overnight.
Nvidia unveiled plans to resume sales of its H20 AI chip to China, pushing the Nasdaq Composite to end at another record high.
Toho jumped 10.09% after the creator of the 'Godzilla' movie franchise raised its annual net profit forecast.
Uniqlo-brand owner Fast Retailing slipped 0.91% to weigh on the Nikkei the most.
Toyota Motor lost 0.89% even as the yen fell to a more than three-month low against the dollar.
'Investors could not buy Toyota despite the yen's weakness because they are concerned about the tariff negotiations,' said Kamada.
Local media reported Prime Minister Shigeru Ishiba is arranging to meet with U.S. Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent in Tokyo on Friday ahead of an August 1 deadline to strike a trade deal with the United States, else face punishing tariff of 25%.
Orange background

Try Our AI Features

Explore what Daily8 AI can do for you:

Comments

No comments yet...

Related Articles

KSE-100 loses 562 points on profit-taking
KSE-100 loses 562 points on profit-taking

Business Recorder

time8 hours ago

  • Business Recorder

KSE-100 loses 562 points on profit-taking

After a positive start, profit-taking returned to the Pakistan Stock Exchange (PSX) on Thursday, with the benchmark KSE-100 Index closing the day lower by 562 points. The stock market opened on a positive note, taking the KSE-100 to an intra-day high of 139,867.82. However, selling pressure soon emerged, pushing the index to an intra-day low of 138,614.10. At close, the benchmark index settled at 138,692.67, down by 561.69 points or 0.40%. 'After a strong rally in recent sessions, the local bourse took a step back today as investors opted to lock in gains ahead of the final days of the rollover week,' brokerage house Topline Securities said in its post-market report. 'The session was marked by a tug-of-war between bullish sentiment and rollover-induced caution, with market participants leaning toward profit-booking. As rollover pressure mounts, choppy movements are likely to persist, with selective interest expected to dictate near-term direction.' Key drags on the index included FFC, HBL, ENGROH, MARI, and EFERT, collectively pulling the index down by 506 points. On the flip side, HUBC, MCB, and SYS lent some support, adding a combined 204 points, Topline said. On Wednesday, PSX came under mild pressure as investors opted for profit-taking. Investors appeared to reassess the sustainability of the recent bullish momentum, leading to a measured pullback in key sectors. The KSE-100 Index shed 165.26 points or 0.12%, settling at 139,254.36 points. Globally, shares in Asia rallied and the Australian dollar hit an eight-month high on Thursday as optimism over earnings and trade supported demand for higher-yielding assets. Tokyo's broad Topix gauge of shares hit an all-time high, following new records on Wall Street overnight, after a trade pact between Japan and the US stoked speculation more deals would appear soon to head off sweeping tariffs. Nasdaq and S&P futures rose after results by Google parent Alphabet beat estimates to kick off the 'Magnificent Seven' earnings season. The US has also reached deals with the Philippines and Indonesia, and an agreement with the European Union is also expected. The EU and US are closing in on a trade deal that would impose 15% tariffs on European imports, while waiving duties on some items, according to officials from the European Commission. Meanwhile, Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent said US and Chinese officials will meet in Stockholm next week. Results from Magnificent Seven members, whose results have powered indexes to previous peaks, are in the spotlight for guidance on spending and returns surrounding artificial intelligence (AI). Alphabet strongly beat estimates and cited massive demand for its cloud computing services as it hiked its capital spending plans. But electric car maker Tesla posted its worst quarterly sales decline in more than a decade and profit that trailed analyst targets. MSCI's broadest index of Asia-Pacific shares outside Japan was up 0.3%. Japan's Topix surged for a second day, rising 1.4% to surpass its previous all-time high reached last year. Meanwhile, the Pakistani rupee strengthened against the US dollar, appreciating 0.19% in the inter-bank market on Thursday. At close, the currency settled at 284.22, a gain of Re0.54. Volume on the all-share index decreased to 648.80 million from 656.64 million recorded in the previous close. The value of shares declined to Rs28.12 billion from Rs32.09 billion in the previous session. was the volume leader with 113.03 million shares, followed by Media Times Ltd with 37.11 million shares, and WorldCall Telecom with 28.18 million shares. Shares of 484 companies were traded on Thursday, of which 182 registered an increase, 273 recorded a fall, while 29 remained unchanged.

Profit-taking at bourse, KSE-100 down nearly 300 points
Profit-taking at bourse, KSE-100 down nearly 300 points

Business Recorder

time11 hours ago

  • Business Recorder

Profit-taking at bourse, KSE-100 down nearly 300 points

After a positive start, profit-taking returned to the Pakistan Stock Exchange (PSX) on Thursday, with the benchmark KSE-100 Index shedding nearly 300 points during intraday trading. The stock market opened on a positive note, pushing the benchmark index to an intraday high of 139,867.82. However, selling pressure soon emerged, and by 2:30pm, the KSE-100 Index was hovering at 138,959.41 level, a decrease of 294.94 points or 0.21%. On Wednesday, PSX came under mild pressure as investors opted for profit-taking. Investors appeared to reassess the sustainability of the recent bullish momentum, leading to a measured pullback in key sectors. The benchmark KSE-100 Index shed 165.26 points or 0.12%, settling at 139,254.36 points. Globally, shares in Asia rallied and the Australian dollar hit an eight-month high on Thursday as optimism over earnings and trade supported demand for higher-yielding assets. Tokyo's broad Topix gauge of shares hit an all-time high, following new records on Wall Street overnight, after a trade pact between Japan and the US stoked speculation more deals would appear soon to head off sweeping tariffs. Nasdaq and S&P futures rose after results by Google parent Alphabet beat estimates to kick off the 'Magnificent Seven' earnings season. The US has also reached deals with the Philippines and Indonesia, and an agreement with the European Union is also expected. The EU and US are closing in on a trade deal that would impose 15% tariffs on European imports, while waiving duties on some items, according to officials from the European Commission. Meanwhile, Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent said US and Chinese officials will meet in Stockholm next week. Results from Magnificent Seven members, whose results have powered indexes to previous peaks, are in the spotlight for guidance on spending and returns surrounding artificial intelligence (AI). Alphabet strongly beat estimates and cited massive demand for its cloud computing services as it hiked its capital spending plans. But electric car maker Tesla posted its worst quarterly sales decline in more than a decade and profit that trailed analyst targets. MSCI's broadest index of Asia-Pacific shares outside Japan was up 0.3%. Japan's Topix surged for a second day, rising 1.4% to surpass its previous all-time high reached last year. This is an intra-day update

Positive sentiments return, KSE-100 gains nearly 300 points
Positive sentiments return, KSE-100 gains nearly 300 points

Business Recorder

time14 hours ago

  • Business Recorder

Positive sentiments return, KSE-100 gains nearly 300 points

Positive sentiments were observed at the Pakistan Stock Exchange (PSX), with the benchmark KSE-100 Index gaining nearly 300 points during the opening hours of trading on Thursday. At 10:50am, the benchmark index was hovering at 139,534.45 level, a gain of 280.10 points or 0.20%. Buying was observed in key sectors including automobile assemblers, oil and gas exploration companies, OMCs and power generation. Index-heavy stocks including HUBCO, PSO, SSGC, SNGPL, OGDC, PPL and POL traded in the green. On Wednesday, PSX came under mild pressure as investors opted for profit-taking. Investors appeared to reassess the sustainability of the recent bullish momentum, leading to a measured pullback in key sectors. The benchmark KSE-100 Index shed 165.26 points or 0.12%, settling at 139,254.36 points. Globally, shares in Asia rallied and the Australian dollar hit an eight-month high on Thursday as optimism over earnings and trade supported demand for higher-yielding assets. Tokyo's broad Topix gauge of shares hit an all-time high, following new records on Wall Street overnight, after a trade pact between Japan and the US stoked speculation more deals would appear soon to head off sweeping tariffs. Nasdaq and S&P futures rose after results by Google parent Alphabet beat estimates to kick off the 'Magnificent Seven' earnings season. The US has also reached deals with the Philippines and Indonesia, and an agreement with the European Union is also expected. The EU and US are closing in on a trade deal that would impose 15% tariffs on European imports, while waiving duties on some items, according to officials from the European Commission. Meanwhile, Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent said US and Chinese officials will meet in Stockholm next week. Results from Magnificent Seven members, whose results have powered indexes to previous peaks, are in the spotlight for guidance on spending and returns surrounding artificial intelligence (AI). Alphabet strongly beat estimates and cited massive demand for its cloud computing services as it hiked its capital spending plans. But electric car maker Tesla posted its worst quarterly sales decline in more than a decade and profit that trailed analyst targets. MSCI's broadest index of Asia-Pacific shares outside Japan was up 0.3%. Japan's Topix surged for a second day, rising 1.4% to surpass its previous all-time high reached last year. This is an intra-day update

DOWNLOAD THE APP

Get Started Now: Download the App

Ready to dive into a world of global content with local flavor? Download Daily8 app today from your preferred app store and start exploring.
app-storeplay-store