Japanese stock markets drift lower on vaccination concerns

Lola Evans
08 Apr 2021, 17:35 GMT+10

The Japanese market fell on Thursday, the only one of the main indices in the region to lose ground.
In Tokyo, the Nikkei 225 dropped 21.81 points or 0.07 percent to close Thursday at 29,708.98.
In Hong Kong, the Hang Seng advanced 333.27 points or 1.16 percent to 29008.07.

SYDNEY, NSW, Australia - The Japanese market fell on Thursday, the only one of the main indices in the region to lose ground.

"Japanese equities may slow down relative to other markets," Masayuki Kichikawa, chief macro strategist at Sumitomo Mitsui Asset Management Co told Reuters Thomson Thursday.

"Markets are placing a lot of emphasis on the size of fiscal stimulus and the vaccination rate. More restrictions would be a negative factor because that would delay a recovery in services consumption."

In Tokyo, the Nikkei 225 dropped 21.81 points or 0.07 percent to close Thursday at 29,708.98.

China's Shanghai Composite added 2.93 points or 0.08 percent to 3,482.55.

The Australian All Ordinaries continued its recent rally to gain another new yearly high. The key index gained 72.90 points or 1.02 percent to close at 7,250.30.

In Hong Kong, the Hang Seng advanced 333.27 points or 1.16 percent to 29008.07.

The U.S. dollar lost ground during the Asian trading zone on Thursday. The euro perked up to 1.1884. The British pound firmed to 1.3765. The Japanese yen was higher at 109.55. The Swiss franc went against the trend, drifting down a few points to 0.9289.

The Canadian dollar rose to 1.2597. The Australian and New Zealand dollars strengthened to 0.7640 and 0.7035 respectively.

Overnight on Wall Street, the Dow Jones index gained 16.02 points or 0.05 percent to 33,466.26.

The Standard and Poor's 500 added 6.01 points or 0.15 percent to 4,079.95.

The Nasdaq Composite edged down 9.54 points or 0.07 percent to 13,688.84.