TOKYO: Tokyo stocks retreated in a quiet session Monday morning as investors await key US jobs figures and a European Central Bank policy meeting later in the week.
Shortly before the open, official data showed Japan’s factory output expanded a weaker-than-expected 1.4 percent in October, suggesting a possible return to growth in the fourth quarter.
The world’s number three economy slipped into a recession during the July-September quarter.
“It’s not that there’s any particularly bad reason to sell stocks, but US shares fell last Friday and Japan’s industrial production numbers missed estimates, so investors are taking profit,” Soichiro Monji, chief strategist at Daiwa SB Investments, told Bloomberg News.
“The direction is down, but its likely people are going to sell a bit, then buy some back during the day.”
Tokyo’s benchmark index has surged to three-month highs recently, while a weak yen — a plus for Japanese exporters — has lent some support.
The Nikkei 225 index at the Tokyo Stock Exchange was down 0.38 percent, or 76.51 points, at 19,807.43 by the lunch break, while the broader Topix index of all first-section shares fell 0.59 percent, or 9.45 points, to 1,585.00.
Toyota edged up 0.09 percent to 7,677 yen, while factory automation giant Keyence rose 2.60 percent to 67,000 yen.
Sony fell 2.72 percent to 3,175 yen, while Mitsubishi UFJ, one of the country’s leading banks, dropped 1.20 percent to 793.8 yen.
On Wall Street, the Dow ticked down 0.08 percent on Friday in a shortened session following the Thanksgiving holiday, while the S&P 500 rose 0.06 percent and the Nasdaq advanced 0.22 percent.
A strong reading for US employment figures on Friday would likely add to already strong expectations that the Federal Reserve will start raising interest rates next month.
