Japan shares Declining Due to Negative US Economic Outlook

Japanese stocks fell at the close Thursday, August 20, affected by Wall Street losses after the US Federal Reserve meeting minutes revealed that policymakers are concerned about the uncertainty surrounding the path of the economic recovery from the Coronavirus pandemic. The Nikkei index fell 1% to close at 22,880.62, the lowest level since August 12.

The broader TOPIX index fell 0.9% to 1599.20 points, its lowest level in a week. 30 of the 33 sectoral sub-indices fell on the Tokyo Stock Exchange.

Semiconductor-related shares performed less than the rest of the market as investors are concerned about Washington’s expansion of restrictions imposed on Huawei, China, and the Philly Semiconductor Index fell 0.63% yesterday.

Screen Holdings plunged 5.18%, Tokyo Electron slumped 3.32%, and Advantest Corp slipped 3.59%. The emerging companies index fell 0.98%, a day after its highest level in two years.

Panasonic shares rose 1.51% after media reports spoke of the company’s investment of $ 100 million to support Tesla’s battery production capacity.

Hitachi Metals jumped 7.2% after the Nikkei economic newspaper reported that Hitachi was intending to sell it. Hitachi gained 0.68%.