Roundup: Tokyo stocks end flat on profit-taking, fresh U.S. economic concerns

TOKYO, Aug. 16– Tokyo stocks closed almost flat Tuesday as investors opted to lock in recent gains amid renewed concerns over the health of the the U.S. economy, while a drop in energy-oriented issues weighed. Following the Nikkei hitting a fresh seven-month closing high a day earlier, dealers here said that investors chose to secure gains rather than chase the…

TOKYO, Aug. 16 (Xinhua) — Tokyo stocks closed almost flat Tuesday as investors opted to lock in recent gains amid renewed concerns over the health of the the U.S. economy, while a drop in energy-oriented issues weighed.

The 225-issue Nikkei Stock Average shed 2.87 points, or 0.01 percent, from Monday to close at 28,868.91.

The broader Topix index, meanwhile, edged down 3.0 points, or 0.15 percent, to finish at 1,981.96.

Following the Nikkei hitting a fresh seven-month closing high a day earlier, dealers here said that investors chose to secure gains rather than chase the market higher, amid a lack of fresh positive cues and renewed U.S. economic concerns.

“The market rallied in the past few sessions but sentiment has been weakened by concerns about an economic slowdown,” Shuji Hosoi, a senior strategist at Daiwa Securities, was quoted as saying.

Trading, they said, was stifled by concerns over weak New York manufacturing data, in contrast to recent economic data pointing to a potential slowdown in the U.S. Federal Reserve’s interest rate hikes from September.

The Federal Reserve Bank of New York’s August general business conditions index tumbled more than 42 points to minus 31.3, data showed Monday, close to its lowest level booked in April 2020, with the results missing already pessimistic market expectations, market analysts here highlighted.

A figure below zero equals a contraction, with factories reporting weaker business conditions almost doubling in August to 43.6 percent, they said.

“Recent U.S. (economic) data has been solid and led investors to believe the pace of the Fed’s rate hikes from September will slow, but this may not be the case if manufacturing continues to slow,” an investment analyst a Tokyo-based securities firm was quoted as saying.

By the close of play, marine transportation, mining, and oil and coal product issues comprised notable decliners, while air transportation, service, and real estate issues gained the most on the Prime Market.

Nikkei heavyweight Softbank Group weighed on the broader market, following reports U.S. hedge fund Elliott Management offloaded almost all of its remaining shares in the tech startup investor.

Energy-oriented issues came under pressure on demand concerns, with exploration giant Inpex dipping 1.7 percent, while Eneos Holdings lost 1.2 percent. Idemitsu Kosan, meanwhile, closed the day 2.1 percent lower.

Shipping firms also sank, with Nippon Yusen diving 4.1 percent, Mitsui O.S.K. Lines falling 4.1 percent, while Kawasaki Kisen Kaisha lost 4 percent by the close.

On the Prime Market on Tuesday, trading volume dropped to 969.65 million shares from Monday’s volume of 994.60 million shares, with decliners outpacing advancers by 953 to 790, while 95 ended the day unchanged.

The turnover on the second trading day of the week came to 2,406.20 billion yen (17.93 billion U.S. dollars). Enditem