Nikkei Index Falls For The Fourth Day, And Virus Fears Overshadow Promising Results

The Japanese Nikkei index fell for the fourth consecutive session Tuesday, August 17th as concerns about the rapidly spreading delta strain of the Coronavirus overshadowed optimism about promising results for companies.

The index closed down by 0.36% to 27424.47 points, erasing its previous gains, which amounted to 0.52%, following strong financial results from heavyweight companies such as Tokyo Electron.

The broader TOPIX index fell 0.49% to 1915.63 points and had previously risen by 0.56%.

Japan is struggling to contain the fifth wave of COVID-19 infections, and the government is set to extend the state of emergency in Tokyo and other regions until Sept. 12 and expand restrictions to seven other regions, NHK reported today.

Today, Tokyo announced 2,962 new daily infections today, setting a record on Friday at 5,773 cases.

Tokyo Electron’s share price declined by 0.73%, giving up previous gains of 3%, despite adjusting earnings expectations upwards.

The air travel sector was the worst performer on the TOPIX sub-index, falling 2.34%.

The services sector lost 0.49% after a gain of 0.62% and the retail sector fell 0.30%, giving up a previous gain of 0.49%.

Shipping companies led the six sectors that rose among the 33 sub-sectors and increased by 1.62%.