(Bloomberg) -- Japan’s Topix slipped on the last trading day of 2019 as the yen strengthened ahead of a four-day break for year-end holidays.
All but one of 33 industry groups on the benchmark measure fell, with electronics makers contributing most to the market’s decline. The yen extended its advance against the dollar after rising 0.2% on Friday.
The Topix still capped an annual gain of more than 15% this year, its best performance since 2017. The Nikkei 225 Stock Average rose more than 18% for 2019. The local market had staged a rebound thanks to a phase-one trade agreement between the U.S. and China that eased concerns for export-reliant Japan.
“There’s no need to take any big risks” ahead of China’s PMI figures and U.S. ISM manufacturing data, which will be released when Japan is on holiday, said Juichi Wako, a strategist at Nomura Securities Co. in Tokyo. “The U.S.-China trade deal will trigger capital expenditure spending next year and it’s highly likely for corporate earnings to see a turnaround,” which will be a reason to buy Japanese equities, he added.
“The market’s been in a cheery mood toward the year-end, so we’ll see if the data doesn’t ruin that,” said Ayako Sera, a market strategist at Sumitomo Mitsui Trust Bank Ltd. “There won’t be any turbulence though, if the numbers are in line with expectations.”
Summary
- Topix -0.7% to 1,721.36 at the close in Tokyo
- Nikkei 225 -0.8% to 23,656.62
- Yen +0.3% at 109.14 per dollar
- Electronics group: Sony -0.7%, Mitsubishi Electric -2.0%, Fanuc -1.8%
©2019 Bloomberg L.P.
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