TOKYO: Tokyo stocks fell 0.44 percent Friday morning after a mixed US jobs report, while investors look ahead to Greece’s weekend bailout referendum, which could decide its future in the eurozone.
The benchmark Nikkei 225 index at the Tokyo Stock Exchange declined 91.25 points to 20,431.25 by the break, while the Topix index of all first-section shares was down 0.13 percent, or 2.11 points, at 1,646.13.
Tokyo picked up a weak lead from Wall Street, which ended in the red as a strong increase in US jobs was overshadowed by the Greek crisis and stagnant wage growth.
US data showed the world’s biggest economy created a solid 223,000 jobs in June and the unemployment rate fell to 5.3 percent from 5.5 percent. But hourly earnings were flat compared with May, while the estimates for job growth in April and May were cut. The data called into question the likelihood the Federal Reserve will lift interest rates in September, as many market-watchers predict.
The Dow dipped 0.18 percent, the S&P 500 eased 0.06 percent and the Nasdaq dropped 0.10 percent.
“I don’t think the US labour market is getting worse, but it’s not getting better either,” Nobuhiko Kuramochi, head of investment information at Mizuho Securities, told Bloomberg News.
