Nikkei Average Down over 1,000 Points in Morning

Tokyo, April 2 (Jiji Press)–Japan’s key Nikkei 225 stock average fell more than 1,000 points Thursday morning, with selling spurred by an address on the Iranian situation by U.S. President Donald Trump. The index of 225 selected issues listed on the Tokyo Stock Exchange’s top-tier Prime section ended the morning session at 52,731.94, down 1,007.74 points, or 1.88 pct, from Wednesday’s closing. The Nikkei rose more than 500 points in early trading but succumbed to selling later since the closely watched speech by Trump “bolstered the view that high crude oil prices would continue,” an official at a Japanese asset management firm said. Investors were spooked by Trump’s remark in the speech that the United States would carry out severe attacks on Iran over the next two to three weeks. “The market will remain unstable for a while as uncertainty over the Middle East rises,” the official said. The content of the speech was “different from what had been expected,” an official of a midsize brokerage house said. “It seems that ceasefire negotiations (between the United States and Iran) have not made progress,” a market source said. In Tokyo currency trading, the dollar firmed to stand at 159.28-29 yen at 11 a.m. Thursday, compared with 158.78-80 yen at 5 p.m. Wednesday, due to the unwinding of risk-on dollar-selling following Trump’s speech. END [Copyright The Jiji Press, Ltd.]