Japanese Shares Mixed in Cautious Trade
The Nikkei 225 Index shed 0.04% to close at 38,686 while the broader Topix Index gained 0.64% to 2,733 in mixed trade on Tuesday, with Japanese shares struggling for clear direction as traders turned cautious ahead of a key US data that could influence the size of an expected Federal Reserve rate cut.
A rebound in the yen and rising Japanese government bond yields also weighed on domestic equities. Markets expect the Bank of Japan to raise interest rates again in December. Technology stocks mostly declined, with sharp losses from Lasertec (-3.4%), Disco Corp (-2.9%), Advantest (-2.3%) and Tokyo Electron (-1.5%). Meanwhile, heavyweight banks rallied on higher domestic yields, including Mitsubishi UFJ (3.3%) and Sumitomo Mitsui (3.3%).
Source: Trading Economics
