Japanese stocks closed lower on Tuesday as concerns about delays in the distribution of coronavirus vaccines, delays in the US stimulus package, and tension in the pre-profit season led to profit-taking.
Nikkei 225. The N225 closed 0.96% lower at 28,546.18 points, with consumers, energy, and cyclical materials heading the way down. The most general Topix. TOOPX decreased 0.75% to 1,848.00.
The United States is struggling to increase vaccinations
European countries are facing delays from suppliers, and Japan has not yet started vaccination, which affects investor sentiment.
In addition, Merck & Co Inc MRK.N has terminated the development of vaccines, raising additional concerns about supply shortages.
Japanese stocks jumped to a 30-year high last week, but the busy earnings schedule in the US and Japan this week, as well as the Federal Reserve meeting ending on Wednesday, are pushing investors to take profits.
There are renewed concerns that the coronavirus will stay with us for longer than expected, which explains the decline in cyclical stocks and gains in defensive stocks,
said Norihiro Fujito
Senior investment analyst at Mitsubishi UFJ Morgan Stanley Securities.
Several
policymakers at the Bank of Japan have called for looser purchases of ETFs, which could emerge as another negative factor for stocks when the central bank revises its policies in March, according to some analysts.
Daikin Industries Ltd 6367 was the biggest performer in the Topix 30, down 2.98%, followed by Toyota Motor Corp 7203.T which lost 2.31%.
Notable gainers were Takeda Pharmaceutical Co Ltd 4502.T, up 1.83%, followed by KDDI Corp 9433.T which rose 1.23%.
There were 80 stocks on the Nikkei, compared to 157
The volume of shares traded on the main board of the Tokyo Stock Exchange. TOOPX has reached 0.93 billion in size, compared to an average of 1.12 billion in the past 30 days.
