Tokyo stocks closed lower on Wednesday on risk-off sentiment after the launch of a formal impeachment inquiry against President Donald Trump and amid renewed worries over the US-China trade conflict.
The benchmark Nikkei 225 index slipped 0.36%, or 78.69 points, to 22,020.15, while the broader Topix index fell 0.18 %, or 2.86 points, to 1,620.08.
Wall street retreated Tuesday before House Democratic Leader Nancy Pelosi announced a formal impeachment inquiry after us markets closed.
The news triggered “a sell-off in us equities, a solid bid in us treasuries and broad decline in the USD,” wrote National Australia Bank’s Strategist Rodrigo Catril in a note.
Also on Tuesday, the US president let rip on international trade during his address at the UN general assembly, declaring that the time of Beijing’s “abuses” of the system was “over.”
The dollar fetched 107.31 yen, against 107.09 yen in New York and 107.57 yen in Tokyo on Wednesday.
In Tokyo, some exporters were lower with game giant Nintendo dropping 4.32% to 40,520 yen and Toyota 1.59% to 7,342 yen.
Softbank group fell 2.28% to 4,436 yen after a report that us fair trade authorities called for a pause of the merger between T-Mobile and Softbank-controlled sprint.
