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Japan's Nikkei hits 9-day low as recession fears grip markets

Published 15/08/2019, 07:27
© Reuters.  Japan's Nikkei hits 9-day low as recession fears grip markets
USD/JPY
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DJI
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JP225
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CL
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NG
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TOPX
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1605
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8750
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7267
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5108
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6752
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8306
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8411
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5019
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IPETE.T
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IPRCS.T
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7203
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7779
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* Nikkei sheds 1.21%, brushes 9-day low

* Strong yen hits exporters, lower yields weigh on

financials

By Shinichi Saoshiro

TOKYO, Aug 15 (Reuters) - Japan's Nikkei hit a nine-day low

on Thursday as resurgent global recession fears triggered a Wall

Street slide and sent the safe-haven yen higher, weighing

heavily on the country's export firms.

The Nikkei share average .N225 ended the day down 1.21% at

20,405.65. During the day, it touched 20,184.85, its lowest

since Aug. 6.

All three major U.S. indexes closed down about 3% on

Wednesday, with the blue-chip Dow .DJI posting its biggest

one-day point drop since October, after the U.S. Treasury yield

curve temporarily inverted for the first time in 12 years

-considered a classic recession signal. .N

"Market confidence has already been deteriorating steadily

due to the ongoing U.S.-China trade conflict and the Treasury

yield curve inversion looks to have pushed sentiment over the

edge," said Yoshinori Shigemi, global market strategist at JP

Morgan Asset Management.

Shares of Japanese exporters retreated as the safe-haven yen

JPY= strengthened against the dollar due to the widespread

risk aversion.

Toyota Motor Corp 7203.T fell 0.9%, Honda Motor Co

7267.T dropped 1.4%, Panasonic 6752.T shed 2.6% and

Bridgestone Corp 5108.T was down 1.1%.

Financial institutions also took a hit, as the sharp drop in

bond yields was seen hurting their profitability. Mitsubishi UFJ

Financial Group 8306.T lost 1.1%, Mizuho Financial Group

8411.T retreated 0.5% and Dai-ichi Life Holdings 8750.T sank

1.6%.

Energy-related shares declined as crude oil prices fell on

the back of global recession concerns. Refiner Idemitsu Kosan Co

5019.T dropped 1.9% and natural gas and oil developer Inpex

Corp 1605.T pulled back 1.8%.

The few gaining stocks included robotics company Cyberdyne

Inc 7779.T , which rallied 4.9% after its April-June pretax

profit returned to the black with its medical robotic suits

finding demand at home and abroad. The broader Topix .TOPX was down 1.04% at 1,483.85.

Declining shares outnumbered gainers by 1,812 to 272.

All of Tokyo's 33 sub-indexes were in the red, with oil and

coal products .IPETE.T and precision machinery .IPRCS.T the

biggest losers.

(Editing by Sam Holmes)

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