The Nikkei Stock Average fell for a second consecutive session at the close on the 9th. ADVANTEST was the largest negative contributor, followed by Fast Retailing, with the two stocks dragging the index down by approximately ¥382; the index closed at ¥65,142.78.
The Nikkei Stock Average opened down ¥182.11 at the close on the 9th and remained weak thereafter. Selling prevailed at the open amid lower U.S. stocks, inflation concerns and higher crude oil prices, but the decline eased from the middle of the morning session, with energy and resource stocks attracting buying at times on the back of higher crude oil prices.
At the close, the Nikkei Stock Average was down ¥126.55 from the previous day at ¥65,142.78. Trading volume on the TSE Prime Market exceeded 2.3 billion shares, while trading value was ¥9.2303 trillion. There were 113 advancing stocks, 110 declining stocks and 2 unchanged stocks.
ADVANTEST was the largest negative contributor, dragging the Nikkei Stock Average down by approximately ¥231, followed by Fast Retailing, which pulled it down by approximately ¥150. Recruit Holdings, Tokyo Electron, Terumo and Nintendo were among the other stocks that followed. On the positive side, SoftBank Group was the largest contributor, pushing the index up by approximately ¥204, followed by Fujikura, which added approximately ¥82.
The leading gainers included SoftBank Group, Fujikura, Ibiden, TDK, Sumitomo Electric Industries and Furukawa Electric, while the leading decliners included ADVANTEST, Fast Retailing, Recruit Holdings, Tokyo Electron, Terumo, Nintendo and Konami Group.