Tokyo: Tokyo stocks closed slightly higher on bargain-buying Friday but gains were capped by concern about Donald Trump’s decision to pull out of next month’s summit with North Korean leader Kim Jong Un.
The Nikkei 225 inched up 0.06 percent, or 13.78 points, to 22,450.79 but was down 2.09 percent over the week.
The broader Topix index slipped 0.22 percent or 3.95 points to 1,771.70, logging a weekly drop of 2.40 percent.
“Geopolitics is well and truly back” with Trump’s announcement, said David de Garis, director of economics and markets at National Australia Bank.
Trump left the door open for a summit at a later date but has set “the bar higher” by demanding North Korea take constructive steps to denuclearisation, he said.
Sentiment was also soured by worries that that Trump could impose tariffs of 25 percent on car imports after his commerce secretary called for a probe into the auto industry on national security grounds.
However, Yoshihiro Ito, chief strategist at Okasan Online Securities said in a commentary: “After selling ran its course, buying on dips underpinned the market.”
The dollar was trading at 109.42 yen, compared with 109.30 yen in New York Thursday.
Carmakers lost ground, with Toyota ending 1.29 percent lower at 7,115 yen and Honda off 0.93 percent at 3,498 yen.
Toyota issued a statement on Trump’s warning questioning whether an automaker could be considered a security threat meriting tariffs.
“Given the global nature of the automobile industry, and the fact that last year nearly 12 million vehicles were manufactured in the US, such a determination seems implausible,” it said.
SoftBank Group lost 2.07 percent to 7,889 yen but Fast Retailing, the operator of Uniqlo clothing outlets rose 0.86 percent to 47,730 yen.
AFP