TOKYO: Japanese stocks slipped, with the Topix index set to cap a second straight monthly gain, as steel manufacturers led declines and electrical appliance makers rose.
The Topix index fell 0.3 per cent to 1,590.08 as of 9:02 a.m. in Tokyo, as all but three of its 33 industry groups dropped. It is on course for a 2 per cent advance in November. The Nikkei 225 Stock Average slipped 0.3 per cent to 19,883.72. The yen traded at 122.80 per dollar after weakening 0.2 per cent on Friday.
“Japanese stocks are overheating as they’ve kept rising since October,” said Shoji Hirakawa, chief equity strategist at Okasan Securities Co in Tokyo. “The dollar is strong basically because a US rate hike is expected. It is positive for Japanese corporate earnings.”
Japanese stocks have weathered a cooling Chinese economy and the prospect of monetary tightening by the Federal Reserve to rank among the best performers in developed countries this year. The Nikkei 225 rallied about 14 per cent in 2015.
