TOKYO: Japanese stocks fluctuated as investors assessed the fallout after global equities dropped by the most in two years on concern that Greece will exit the euro.
Banks fell for a second day, with Mitsubishi UFJ Financial Inc. losing 1.8 percent, the biggest drag on the Topix index. Firms that rely on Europe for sales declined, with Nintendo Co. and Nikon Corp. retreating at least 1.4 percent. Aeon Co. soared 6.6 percent on a report the supermarket operator’s quarterly profit will increase 50 percent.
The Topix climbed 0.1 percent to 1,626.18 as of 12:34 p.m. in Tokyo, after falling as much as 0.2 percent. The measure, which fell 2.5 percent on Monday, the most since January, is on track for a quarterly gain of 5.4 percent. The Nikkei 225 Stock Average added 0.4 percent to 20,188.20.
“We’re already in oversold territory and it’s hard to imagine us taking another leg lower from here, but until we see the results of the Greek referendum, the lingering uncertainty means investors will stay out,” said Ryuta Otsuka, a strategist at Toyo Securities Co. in Tokyo. “Today’s Tokyo stock market could struggle to find direction.”
The MSCI All Country World Index of global developed and emerging-market stocks tumbled 2.2 percent on Monday, its worst loss since June 2013, after Greece called for a July 5 referendum on the bailout proposal, triggering an end to negotiations with creditors and a shutdown of the nation’s financial system.
The current bailout package expires Tuesday, with a $1.7 billion debt payment due to the International Monetary Fund.
