Daily Times

Tokyo’s benchmark Nikkei index moved lower in early trade on Wednesday after Wall Street shares slipped and with Japan struggling to control a surge in virus cases. The Nikkei 225 index gave up gains and slipped 0.08 percent, or 22.24 points, to 27,402.23 while the broader Topix index also edged down 0.03 percent, or 0.49 points, to 1,915.14. The dollar stood at 109.56 yen, nearly flat from 109.59 yen in New York on Tuesday. The falls came as Wall Street shares ended lower after a five-day winning streak following a lacklustre US retail sales report that exacerbated worries about the latest Covid-19 wave. “It’s hard to expect sharp falls (in Tokyo) now since the market has already been soft since the start of the week,” Okasan Online Securities said in a note. “But active buying is also unlikely as the spread of the Delta variant shows no signs of slowing down,” Okasan said. The market is seeing some bargain hunting, but not enough to lift the overall market for now, it added. “In addition to the overnight falls of US and European shares, the Japanese government extended the current state of emergency” for Tokyo and other areas as the nation struggles to control a surging infection wave, the brokerage said. “Investors continue to believe that economic normalisation will be delayed because of the spread of the coronavirus,” Okasan said.