The Nikkei Average fell sharply at one point from the previous day, but in the afternoon session it held its losses while limiting the decline. The September SQ settlement value was described as a “phantom,” making the settlement values for stock index futures and options a key focus for the market.
The Nikkei Average fell sharply in the afternoon session on the 11th, closing at ¥64,011.34, down ¥1,259.61 from the previous day. The TOPIX also declined, falling 26.28 points to 4,028.30. The Nikkei fell as much as ¥2,062.32 intraday, but remained firm in the afternoon session and limited its losses.
Auto-related stocks were firm amid expectations of improved yields for bank stocks and foreign-exchange trends toward a weaker yen, providing support for the indices. The September contract’s stock index futures and options SQ settlement value was ¥60,339.49, below the cash market low, and was described as a “phantom SQ.”
Trading volume on the TSE Prime Market was 23.70251 billion shares, while trading value was ¥8.7129 trillion. There were 509 advancing issues, 986 declining issues and 58 unchanged issues. By sector, 22 of the 33 sectors declined and 11 advanced.