The Nikkei average started the afternoon session in the ¥67,490 range, down approximately ¥1,541 from the previous day. Reports covered the Nikkei 225 futures range, dollar-yen movements and the status of declining stocks.
At the afternoon-session open, the Nikkei average stood at ¥67,490.11, down ¥1,540.81 from the previous day, starting with a narrower decline from the morning-session close of ¥67,292.39. Midday futures traded in the ¥67,330–¥67,730 range, while dollar-yen was around ¥158.20–¥158.30 per dollar. In Asian markets, the Shanghai Composite was down about 0.2% and the Hang Seng Index was down about 0.3%.
Buying led the afternoon session at times, relative to the morning-session close, but some investors refrained from selling as they waited to assess Bank of Japan Governor Ueda's scheduled attendance at the House of Representatives Budget Committee. There were also reports of a view that the decline in South Korea's KOSPI was weighing on the Tokyo market.
Among the stocks with the highest trading value, Kioxia Holdings, Micronics, KOKUSAI, Ibiden, SUMCO, SoftBank Group, Taiyo Yuden, Resonac Holdings, Nidec and Fujikura were cited as decliners. Meanwhile, Mitsui O.S.K. Lines, Fast Retailing, Mitsubishi UFJ, Sumitomo Mitsui, Toyota, NYK Line, Yaskawa Electric, Resona Holdings, Mizuho and Recruit Holdings were rising.
By sector, nonferrous metals, electric appliances and metal products posted the largest declines, while marine transportation, securities and commodity futures, and steel posted the largest gains.