1st LD Writethru: Tokyo stocks close lower on concerns ahead of trade talks
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E-mail Xinhua, October 9, 2019
TOKYO, Oct. 9 (Xinhua) -- Tokyo stocks closed lower Wednesday as concerns over the future course of the global economy increased ahead of upcoming trade talks between the United States and China.
The 225-issue Nikkei Stock Average dropped 131.40 points, or 0.61 percent, from Tuesday to close the day at 21,456.38.
The broader Topix index of all First Section issues on the Tokyo Stock Exchange, meanwhile, lost 4.80 points, or 0.30 percent, to finish at 1,581.70.
Investors were largely in a risk-off mood during trading hours after inheriting a weak lead from Wall Street overnight, as buying appetite was zapped by concerns ahead of trade talks scheduled to be held between China and the U.S. in Washington this week.
Local brokers said that cyclical issues sensitive to external factors lost ground as some investors opted to take profits.
"There is profit-taking in chip related stocks after big gains yesterday as the sector is susceptible to the U.S.-China relations," Nobuhiko Kuramochi, chief strategist at Mizuho Securities, was quoted as saying.
He added that Philadelphia semiconductor stock index slumping also dashed investor sentiment.
As such, silicon wafer maker Sumco dropped 3.4 percent, while chip tester maker Advantest lost 2.4 percent.
Hitachi Construction Machinery and Komatsu both lost 1 percent, while industrial robotics maker Yaskawa Electric closed down 2.5 percent while rival Fanuc ended the day 1.6 percent lower.
Defensive issues found favor, however, with Seven & I Holdings adding 0.7 percent and chemical and cosmetics maker Kao closing 1.6 percent higher.
By the close of play, mining, marine transportation and insurance-linked issues comprised those that declined the most, and issues that advanced outpaced those that declined by 1,070 to 982, while 101 ended the day unchanged.
On the main section on Wednesday, 1,045.24 million shares changed hands, dropping from Tuesday's volume of 1,113.28 million shares.
The turnover on the third trading day of the week came to 1,803.5 billion yen (16.80 billion U.S. dollars). Enditem
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