The Nikkei Average was down ¥695 as of 1:50 p.m., with SoftBank Group, Tokyo Electron and Fast Retailing among the major negative contributors. Investors are holding back on aggressive buying ahead of the US employment report due tonight.
The Nikkei Average was down ¥695 as of 1:50 p.m. SoftBank Group, Tokyo Electron and Fast Retailing were the top negative contributors, while Advantest, Fujikura and BayCurrent were among the top positive contributors.
By sector, securities and commodity products, real estate, information and communications, transportation equipment, and other finance were the top decliners. Nonferrous metals, mining, oil and coal products, and marine transportation were higher.
Many market participants are waiting to assess the US September employment report due tonight, and aggressive buying has generally been deferred. At the same time, the fact that the Nikkei Average had risen to a level near ¥68,000 led to views that downside support was firm.