The Tokyo stock market fell again on Tuesday due to the constant concern over the progressive increase in the number of victims and infections from the new coronavirus with a focus on central China and its potential effect on the global economy.
The Nikkei reference index fell 127.80 points, 0.55%, to 23,215.71 integers, while the second indicator, the Topix, which groups the values of the first section, fell 10.29 points, 0.6%, up to 1,692.28 units.
Tokyo park opened down, following the general fall in international markets after the Chinese authorities extended the lunar New Year holiday period until February to try to contain the spread of the virus, which has left at least 106 dead among more than 4,500 infected in that country.
Tokyo investors negotiated cautiously, fearing the still uncertain effect that the spread of the virus will have on the Chinese and global economies, which keeps more than a dozen cities in central China isolated and vigilant more than fifteen days ago. countries and regions in which a case has been detected.
The appreciation of the yen, considered a refuge asset in times of crisis, also negatively affected Japanese exporters. The US dollar was exchanged around 109 yen at the close of the session and the euro in the low band of 120 yen.
The iron and steel sector led the day's losses, followed by the miner and the oil and coal sector.
The Yamaha group led the decline among the 225 companies listed on the Nikkei, with a 5.15% decline. They were also among the companies whose actions fell today the JFE refinery (-3.33%) and the technological Casio (-3.32%).
In the first section, which includes the firms with the highest capitalization, 1,335 securities fell back compared to 735 that advanced, while 89 ended the session without changes.
The trading volume amounted to 2.19 trillion yen (18.260 million euros), compared to 1.04 trillion yen (8.655 million euros) the previous day.