The Nikkei 225 edged lower, with buying leading at the open before gains narrowed and the morning session ended. The market opened firmly against a backdrop of gains in U.S. stocks and lower oil prices, but profit-taking selling limited the upside, and directionless trading is expected in the afternoon session as well.
The Nikkei 225 edged down to 66,333.53 during the morning session. Estimated trading volume was approximately more than 1 billion shares. Buying led after the open, but gains were quickly erased and the index moved into negative territory. Lower oil prices and falling long-term interest rates supported the market against the backdrop of U.S. market trends, but once buying subsided, profit-taking selling prevailed and trading shifted to a daily range-bound pattern.
Among individual stocks, SoftBank Group, Recruit Holdings, SMC and Bridgestone were among the advancers, while Ibiden, Fast Retailing, KDDI, Daiichi Sankyo, Lasertec and Shin-Etsu Chemical declined. By sector, insurance, banking and machinery rose, while metal products, pharmaceuticals and mining declined.
The afternoon session is expected to remain range-bound around the morning close. Ahead of the final ex-rights trading day at the end of September, some dividend-reinvestment buying is expected. The Nikkei 225 briefly moved above its 75-day moving average, but it is uncertain whether it will break clearly above it. Trading may remain directionless as the market assesses developments in the Middle East and interest rates.