TOKYO: Tokyo stocks ended virtually flat on Monday amid lackluster trading, as selling in automaker shares offset buying in select heavily weighted stocks such as Nippon Electric Glass
and Alps Electronics.
Overall, however, investors cited pronounced lacked incentives after the Nikkei Stock Average added 2.4 per cent last week and April index options expired on Friday.
The Nikkei edged down 2.17 points Monday, or 0.01 per cent, at 19,905.46. Trading volume was anemic at just 1.7 billion shares, not far from the year low.
“After some excitement over last week’s ‘Nikkei-return to-20000’ hubbub, there was very little in the way of data or news to trade on today,” says an equity trading director at a European brokerage. “If anything, short- and mid-term options and futures activity are pointing to downside protection buying in the case that US earnings disappoint, triggering a raft of selling.”
J.P. Morgan Chase & Co. and Intel Corp. rank among closely-watched US shares that may pack a Japan share price impact; the pair report earnings figures later this week.
