Japanese Stocks Fall on Concern over U.S.-China Trade Tensions

Tokyo, Oct. 23 (Jiji Press)–Japanese stocks dropped in Tokyo trading on Thursday as investors became risk-averse amid concerns over a possible escalation in U.S.-China trade tensions. The benchmark Nikkei 225 stock average fell 666.18 points, or 1.35 pct, from Wednesday to close at 48,641.61. It briefly gave up over 900 points. Sentiment was hurt by an overnight fall in U.S. stocks following a news report that the administration of U.S. President Donald Trump is considering restricting exports of software-powered products to China. U.S. semiconductor giant Texas Instruments Inc.’s weaker-than-expected earnings forecasts also put downward pressure on Japanese technology stocks, including tech investor SoftBank Group, chip-testing equipment maker Advantest and semiconductor production equipment maker Tokyo Electron. “With the U.S. government suspending the releases of its economic data, investors’ attention has turned to earnings reports by companies,” an official at a major securities firm said. “As other U.S. companies are set to make their earnings announcements, the U.S. stock market’s reaction will likely influence the moves of the Tokyo market,” the official said. END [Copyright The Jiji Press, Ltd.]