Tokyo shares close flat on bargain buying
Tuesday, 1 June 2010
TOKYO, May 31 (Agencies): Japanese shares closed flat Monday after a mixed session weighed down by eurozone worries following Spain's credit rating downgrade, but bargain hunting lifted some exporters as the yen weakened.
The headline Nikkei index of the Tokyo Stock Exchange closed up 5.72 points, or 0.06 per cent, to 9,768.70, ending a turbulent month that saw it shed 12 per cent on jitters over the global economy and geopolitical tensions on the Korean peninsula.
The Topix index of all first-section shares gained 1.94 points, or 0.22 per cent, to 880.46.
Investors took their cue from Wall Street, where US shares fell 1.19 per cent Friday after Fitch Ratings downgraded Spain's sovereign debt to AA+ from its top AAA rating due to concerns that austerity measures will hit growth.
On the domestic front, figures showing that industrial production grew 1.3 per cent in April, missing average market expectations of a 2.5 per cent rise, had little impact on trading.
Exporters were lifted by the euro's rise against the yen, with investors buying back shares in the knowledge US markets will be shut for the Memorial Day public holiday overnight.
"Investors are carefully buying back exporters as they don't have to worry about a potential US market fall tonight," Yutaka Miura, senior technical analyst at Mizuho Securities, told Dow Jones Newswires.
Canon added 0.13 per cent, Mazda Motor rose 0.42 per cent and Nissan Motor was 0.30 per cent higher.
The headline Nikkei index of the Tokyo Stock Exchange closed up 5.72 points, or 0.06 per cent, to 9,768.70, ending a turbulent month that saw it shed 12 per cent on jitters over the global economy and geopolitical tensions on the Korean peninsula.
The Topix index of all first-section shares gained 1.94 points, or 0.22 per cent, to 880.46.
Investors took their cue from Wall Street, where US shares fell 1.19 per cent Friday after Fitch Ratings downgraded Spain's sovereign debt to AA+ from its top AAA rating due to concerns that austerity measures will hit growth.
On the domestic front, figures showing that industrial production grew 1.3 per cent in April, missing average market expectations of a 2.5 per cent rise, had little impact on trading.
Exporters were lifted by the euro's rise against the yen, with investors buying back shares in the knowledge US markets will be shut for the Memorial Day public holiday overnight.
"Investors are carefully buying back exporters as they don't have to worry about a potential US market fall tonight," Yutaka Miura, senior technical analyst at Mizuho Securities, told Dow Jones Newswires.
Canon added 0.13 per cent, Mazda Motor rose 0.42 per cent and Nissan Motor was 0.30 per cent higher.