Roundup: Tokyo stocks end mixed as chip-linked issues rise, COVID-19 concerns weigh

2021-04-19 12:06:20 GMT2021-04-19 20:06:20(Beijing Time) Xinhua English

TOKYO, April 19 (Xinhua) -- Tokyo stocks ended mixed on Monday as investors were caught in a tug of war between snapping up chip-related issues and dealing with the downside pressures from Japan's resurgent COVID-19 cases and the negative implications for the economy.

The 225-issue Nikkei Stock Average edged up 2.00 points, or 0.01 percent, from Friday to close the day at 29,685.37.

The broader Topix index of all First Section issues on the Tokyo Stock Exchange, meanwhile, lost 4.31 points, or 0.22 percent, to finish at 1,956.56.

Local brokers said that the market's upside was capped by continued concerns about the novel coronavirus spreading in Japan and the possibility of major urban centers like Tokyo and Osaka being placed under COVID-19 emergency restrictions again.

They said if states of emergency are declared in large metropolitan regions and restrictions applied to people's movement and businesses' operations, the economic outlook would become clouded and sway investors away from riskier assets like stocks and into safe havens like the Japanese yen.

"There are several reasons that overseas investors can't decide whether to sell or buy Japanese stocks," Takatoshi Itoshima, strategist at Pictet Asset Management, was quoted as saying.

"It is still not clear the impact of the outcome of the summit talks between the U.S. and Japan. We do not know how the Tokyo Olympics will be held, and vaccine rollouts are extremely slow here and the virus is spreading again," Itoshima added.

Investor sentiment was dented by geopolitical tensions, adding to the market's lack of direction and overall choppy trade that saw tech issues advance, some issues exposed to overseas markets sink, with the yen gaining on the U.S. dollar as investors switched to the safe haven currency, market strategists here said.

By the close of play, electric appliance and marine transportation issues led notable gainers, while air and land transportation issues comprised those that declined the most.

Among tech issues finding favor, Advantest gained 1.0 percent, while Tokyo Electron ended the day 1.9 percent higher. Sumco, meanwhile, climbed 5.7 percent to become the Nikkei's largest percentage gainer.

But amid rising concerns about Japan's COVID-19 rebound, transportation issues lost ground on concerns patronage will be affected by possible new restrictions and requests for people not to cross prefectural lines, particularly during the upcoming Golden Week string of national holidays.

As such, Japan Airlines dropped 3.6 percent, while East Japan Railway retreated 2.1 percent by the close.

Issues that fell outpaced those that rose by 1,094 to 1,000 on the First Section, while 96 ended the day unchanged.

On the main section on Monday, 918.23 million shares changed hands, rising from Friday's volume of 909.15 million shares.

The turnover on the first trading day of the week came to 2,060.14 billion yen (19.04 billion U.S. dollars). Enditem

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