The Nikkei average continues to fall slightly, leading to a lack of direction due to a weak weekend | Reuters

TOKYO (Reuters) – On the Tokyo stock market, the Nikkei average continued to fall slightly, down 1.48 yen from the previous business day to 33,422.93 yen. U.S. stocks were mixed the day before, there was little new material and it was the weekend, so the price movements lacked a sense of direction.

The Nikkei average dropped by 79 yen, and at one point widened its decline to 160 yen, but then turned positive and rose by 105 yen, continuing to fluctuate around the previous day’s closing price. .

In the market, there was a comment from Takatoshi Itoshima, Pictet Japan’s strategist, “The trading was within the previous day’s price range, and there is little sense of direction.It is difficult to proceed as the US version of the SQ (Specially Cleared Index) is about to be calculated.” (Takatoshi Itoshima, strategist at Pictet Japan) Ta.

While there was some interest in stocks with good performance and domestic demand stocks, semiconductor-related stocks, which make a large contribution to the Nikkei average, were generally weak. It has been reported that Applied Materials (AMAT.O), the largest US semiconductor manufacturing equipment company, is under criminal investigation for allegedly bypassing regulations and exporting products to China’s largest semiconductor company, Central Integrated Circuit Manufacturing (SMIC). Stocks fell, and a wave of disgust spread.

While the Nikkei 225 average continues to be in the high range, “Next week we will enter a vacuum zone of events, and it may be flat or a little more likely to be profit-taking selling.However, the valuation of Japanese stocks is cheap, so if it falls, it is likely to be a bullish buy.” I think that’s a good thing,” said Pictet Japan’s Mr. Itoshima.

TOPIX closed the morning session at 2,374.39 points, up 0.24%. The trading value on the TSE prime market was 1,803,229 million yen. Of the 33 industries on the Tokyo Stock Exchange, 22 industries saw price increases, including air transportation, precision equipment, and land transportation, while prices decreased in 11 industries, including petroleum and coal products, other products, and rubber products.

Asahi Group HLDG (2502.T), which is reportedly selling shares held by financial institutions, is cheap. Tokyo Electron (8035.T) was slightly lower. On the other hand, Hitachi (6501.T) and Shin-Etsu Chemical (4063.T) hit new highs since the beginning of the year.

Regarding the number of rises and falls in the TSE prime market, 1,069 issues rose (64%), 540 issues fell (32%), and 49 issues remained unchanged (2%).

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