The Nikkei 225 was down about ¥790 in the morning session, trading around ¥62,290. Selling led from the morning, influenced by the wait-and-see mood in US markets and caution over the midterm election results.
On the morning of the 4th, the Nikkei 225 traded about ¥790 below the previous day’s close, reaching ¥61,913.79 before 10:00 a.m. and falling below ¥62,000 for the first time in 8 sessions during trading hours. Nikkei futures in the Osaka Exchange night session were down about ¥170 from the settlement price. As the US market adopted a stronger wait-and-see stance ahead of the midterm election results, the Dow fell again, while the Nasdaq and SOX posted modest rebounds for the first time in 4 sessions.
By sector, 16 of the 33 sectors declined and 17 advanced. Nonferrous metals, mining, oil and coal products, electrical appliances, marine transportation and steel stocks were generally weak. Air transport and other products stocks advanced. In the Tokyo foreign exchange market, USD/JPY traded in the lower ¥158 range and the euro in the lower ¥177 range.
Among individual stocks, Advantest and Tokyo Electron fell. Steel stocks including 日本製鉄 and JFEホールディングス were also weak, while shipping-related stocks of Japanese shipping companies were relatively firm. In another section, Yamato Holdings and others advanced, while air transport stocks including ANA and JAL were also firm.