TOKYO: Japan’s stocks fell as a rout in oil prices dragged energy shares lower, outweighing a report showing the nation’s economy avoided a recession.
The Topix index lost 1 percent as of 12:46 p.m. in Tokyo, reversing a gain of as much as 0.3 percent. Energy explorer Inpex Corp. sank 5.2 percent as crude held near a six-year low. Japan’s economy expanded an annualized 1 percent in the third quarter, according to figures published on Tuesday, after an earlier reading had shown a second straight quarterly contraction.
“We’ll probably see a weak performance led by mining and raw material stocks as we did in the U.S.,” said Yutaka Miura, a technical analyst at Mizuho Securities Co. in Tokyo. “It’s likely that cheap oil will continue to be a weight on U.S. shares.”
Oil has slumped more than 40 percent since Saudi Arabia led the Organization of Petroleum Exporting Countries’ decision last year to maintain output and defend market share against higher-cost U.S. shale producers. Members set aside their output quota on Friday until they gather again in June.
The Nikkei 225 Stock Average fell 1 percent to 19,497.29. Energy shares and other commodity-related stocks led declines among the Topix’s 33 industry groups. Oil refiner JX Holdings Inc. lost 3.1 percent, while JGC Corp., which provides services to energy firms, slumped 5.9 percent. Sumitomo Metal Mining Co. dropped 2.8 percent.
