Nikkei index closed flat and recorded its first annual loss in 4 years

On Friday, Japan’s Nikkei index gave up early gains to close flat ahead of the New Year holidays and post its first annual loss in four years.

The index ended trading stable at 26094.50 points, after rising 0.9 percent earlier in the session, tracing the impact of the gains seen on Wall Street last night. The index fell 9.4 percent during the year, its first annual loss since 2018.

The broader Topix index also reversed its trend, closing down 0.19 percent at 1891.71 points, and ending the year down by five percent, the first loss in four years as well.

The Japanese market is scheduled to resume trading on Wednesday after the New Year holidays.

Fast Retailing, owner of clothing brand Uniqlo, rose 1.94 percent, and technology investment group SoftBank Group rose 0.46 percent.

Shipping companies rose 1.23 percent and were the best performers among the 33 sub-indices on the Tokyo Stock Exchange.

Among the stocks listed on the Nikkei index, 91 rose, 121 declined, while 13 remained unchanged.