Nikkei slips from 3-decade high on profit-taking, SoftBank drag reuters.com - get the latest breaking news, showbiz & celebrity photos, sport news & rumours, viral videos and top stories from reuters.com Daily Mail and Mail on Sunday newspapers.
The dollar held firm on Friday, staying near its highest level in four months against a basket of currencies as investors looked for more hints from the Federal Reserve on its plans to reduce monetary stimulus.
By Reuters Staff
2 Min Read
TOKYO, July 19 (Reuters) - Japan’s Nikkei share average dropped on Monday to test a major support level from its 200-day moving average, as semiconductor stocks came under pressure tracking losses in their U.S. peers due to profit-taking.
Sentiment was also hit by worries about the spread of highly contagious Delta variant of the coronavirus and the Tokyo 2020 Olympics likely worsening the health crisis and eroding public support for Prime Minister Yoshide Suga ahead of an election later this year.
By late afternoon trade, Nikkei share average fell 1.58% to 27,561.59, edging near last week’s two-month low of 27,419.40.
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Semiconductor-related stocks led the decline after U.S. tech shares slumped last week, with the Philadelphia semiconductor shares index hitting a one-month low.
Taiyo Yuden lost 3.63%, while Sumco fell 4.1%. Tokyo Electron was down 2.09%, while Advantest shed 1.4%.
The broader Topix lost 1.3%, with all of its 33 industry sub-indexes except the drug sector in the red, in line with shares slipping globally on rising concerns about a surge in coronavirus cases.
Tokyo Olympics organizers on Sunday reported the first COVID-19 cases among competitors residing in the athletes’ village, as its population swells ahead of the start of the pandemic-hit Games next week.
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