Shares of "Recruit Holdings" curb losses thanks to its rise

Chip stocks push the Nikkei index lower

"Nikkei" fell 0.14% to close at 27977.15 points.

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The Japanese Nikkei index closed lower yesterday, led by a decline in chip-related shares that tracked their US counterparts, but heavyweight Recruit Holdings stock curbed losses thanks to its rise.

The Nikkei declined 0.14% to close at 27977.15 points, while the broader Topix index gained 0.15% to 1956.39 points.

But in a week, Nikki made his second straight gain.

"US markets did not show strength last night, as they slipped into negative territory during the session," said Kentaro Hayashi, chief strategist at Daiwa Securities.

Weak US chip stocks pressured investor sentiment today, but defensive stocks are strong, especially (Recruit Holdings) in the services sector.

Recruit Holdings shares rose 10.01%, after a revised annual profit forecast for the recruitment and publishing company beat the average forecast of analysts.

Shares of JFE Holdings jumped 9.32% after the steelmaker doubled its annual net profit forecast.

However, the shares of the two chip manufacturing equipment companies "Tokyo Electron" and "Advantest" lost 1.85% and 4.73%, respectively, as the "Philadelphia" semiconductor index fell for the sixth consecutive session the day before yesterday.

Refining companies led the decline among 33 sub-indices of sectors on the Tokyo Stock Exchange with the decline in oil prices.

The air and land transport sectors also fell in light of the further spread of the “Covid-19” pandemic in Japan.

Toshiba's stock fell 4.37%, despite the company's return to profitability, as the giant company that was affected by the scandal said that it was working on selecting candidates for the position of CEO and Chairman of the Board of Directors permanently.

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