Daily Times

Tokyo stocks ended lower for a fourth straight day Thursday after shares on Wall Street eased overnight ahead of the release of US inflation data. The benchmark Nikkei 225 index slipped 0.60 percent, or 159.41 points, to 26,237.42, while the broader Topix index gave up 0.77 percent, or 14.39 points, to 1,854.61. All eyes are on the US Consumer Price Index data, to be released later in the day, with global investors broadly sticking to the sidelines in the meantime. Markets are more likely to move after the data is released, said Ray Attrill of National Australia Bank. “US September CPI data looms large and should have major bearing on rates, risk sentiment and forex between their release and the weekend,” he said. Investors were also monitoring the falling yen, which stood at around 146.86 to the dollar — beyond levels that last month prompted Japan’s finance ministry to intervene to try and lift the currency. Finance Minister Shunichi Suzuki and Bank of Japan Governor Haruhiko Kuroda are in Washington for a gathering of G20 finance chiefs and central bankers. Suzuki told reporters on Thursday that Japan “will take decisive action if there are sharp fluctuations”. Sony Group fell 0.45 percent to 9,305 yen while SoftBank Group lost 0.56 percent to 5,469 yen. Toyota shed 0.32 percent to 1,983.5 yen while Nissan dropped 1.31 percent to 444.1 yen. Honda added 0.97 percent to 3,226 yen. Uniqlo operator Fast Retailing added 0.12 percent to 78,680 yen.