TOKYO (dpa-AFX) - The Japanese stock market, which resumed trading on Monday after a four-day holiday, is declining following the negative cues from Wall Street Friday reflecting weakness in tech stocks as well as on worries about rising U.S.-China tensions and the surge in coronavirus cases worldwide.
On Sunday, the Tokyo Metropolitan Government reported 239 new coronavirus infections, topping 200 cases for the sixth straight day.
The benchmark Nikkei 225 Index is down 171.16 points or 0.75 percent to 22,580.45, after falling to a low of 22,429.57 in early trades.
Market heavyweight SoftBank Group is advancing more than 1 percent, while Fast Retailing is declining 0.6 percent.
In the tech space, Tokyo Electron is losing more than 2 percent and Advantest is lower by almost 2 percent, tracking the losses by their U.S. counterparts on Friday.
In the oil sector, Japan Petroleum is declining almost 2 percent and Inpex is down 0.5 percent even as crude oil prices rose on Friday.
The major exporters are lower on a stronger safe-haven yen. Canon, Panasonic and Sony are down more than 1 percent each, while Mitsubishi Electric is down 0.6 percent.
In the financial sector, Mitsubishi UFJ Financial and Sumitomo Mitsui Financial are lower by 1 percent each. Among automakers, Honda is declining more than 1 percent and Toyota is edging down 0.1 percent.
Among the other major gainers, J Front Retailing is rising more than 2 percent, while Tokyo Gas, Nitto Denko, Matsui Securities and Daiichi Sankyo are higher by more than 1 percent.
Conversely, Daiwa House Industry is losing almost 2 percent, while Shimizu Corp. and Haseko Corp. are lower by more than 1 percent each.
On the economic front, Japan will see final May results for its leading and coincident indexes as well as May figures for its all industry activity index.
In the currency market, the U.S. dollar is trading in the upper 105 yen-range on Monday.
On Wall Street, stocks closed lower on Friday as semiconductor giant Intel came under pressure after reporting better-than-expected second quarter results but warning of further delays in production of its next-generation chips. Concerns about rising tensions between the U.S. and China also weighed on the markets after Beijing decided to revoke the license for the establishment and operation of the U.S. Consulate General in Chengdu. The move comes just days after the U.S. government ordered China to close its consulate in Houston, Texas, amid accusations Chinese diplomats aided in economic espionage and the attempted theft of scientific research.
The Dow slid 182.44 points or 0.7 percent to 26,469.89, the Nasdaq slumped 98.24 points or 0.9 percent to 10,363.18 and the S&P 500 fell 20.03 points or 0.6 percent to 3,215.63.
The major European markets also showed significant moves to the downside on Friday. While the German DAX Index tumbled by 2 percent, the French CAC 40 Index and the U.K.'s FTSE 100 Index slumped by 1.5 percent and 1.4 percent, respectively.
Crude oil prices edged higher on Friday despite concerns about an escalation in tensions between the U.S. and China, as stronger-than-expected economic data from Europe and the U.S. helped ease worries about energy demand outlook a bit. WTI crude for September added $0.22 or about 0.5 percent to $41.29 a barrel.
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