Japan’s Nikkei Continues to Decline

The Japanese Nikkei index ended Thursday, September 30, with its best monthly performance since November 2020, even as markets fell for the fourth consecutive session on concerns about the growth of the Chinese economy due to the worsening electricity crisis.

The Nikkei index fell 0.31% to 2,9452.66 points but recorded a monthly gain of 4.85%.

The TOPIX index lost 0.4% to 2030.16 points but ended September with a monthly increase of 3.54%, the largest rise since March.

Factory activities in China unexpectedly contracted in September, as rising raw material prices and power outages put pressure on manufacturers in the world’s second-largest economy.

Nikkei changed course briefly on news that US Republicans and Democrats had reached an agreement on a temporary funding measure to prevent a government shutdown.

But the market failed to maintain momentum even as Japan’s ruling Liberal Democratic Party chose a new leader who is set to become the country’s new prime minister.