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TOKYO – Japan’s Nikkei tumbled on Tuesday, trading below the 27,000 psychological level recovered a day earlier, as US futures skidded and investors struggled to find new catalysts as the earnings season came to an end.
Nikkei shares averaged 0.4% lower after opening 0207 GMT higher at 26,888.18, where broad topics fell 0.33% to 1,888.37.
“With a small market index, the number of participants was limited, which made the market volatile,” said Chihiro Ohta, assistant general manager of investment research and investment services at SMBC Nikko Securities.
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Shares on the main board of the Tokyo Stock Exchange stood at 0.54 billion, up from an average of 1.28 billion in the last 30 days.
China’s economic outlook, persistently high inflation around the world, the US Federal Reserve’s aggressive efforts to control rising price pressures and concerns over rising energy costs have also weighed on investor sentiment, said a strategist at a domestic brokerage.
Among the 33 industry sub-indices on the Tokyo Stock Exchange, the services sector led the decline. Staffing agency Recruit Holdings led the loss in the sub-index with a 4.41% decline.
Advertising firm Dentsu Group fell 1.86%.
Banking shares traded up 0.38% after JPMorgan Chase & Co, the largest U.S. lender, raised its current year’s interest earnings outlook.
Mitsubishi UFJ Financial Group gained 1.02% and was the top gainer among the top 30 main topic names.
Trading firms were also strong, with Itochu up 1.2% and Mitsubishi Corp up 1.23%.
The Nikkei index was up 96 points against 124 declines. (Reporting by Junko Fujita; Editing by Shuvrangshu Sahu)