عربي English Türkçe اردو فارسى
Logo
Latest News
Business

Japan’s Nikkei Retreats from 5-Month Peak, Set to Rise Nearly 20% for Year

A pedestrian walks past an electronic board showing the closing numbers on the Tokyo Stock Exchange, with graphs illustrating the daily movement (L) and for the last 12 months (R), along a street in central Tokyo on December 30, 2024. (AFP)
A pedestrian walks past an electronic board showing the closing numbers on the Tokyo Stock Exchange, with graphs illustrating the daily movement (L) and for the last 12 months (R), along a street in central Tokyo on December 30, 2024. (AFP)
TT
TT

Japan’s Nikkei Retreats from 5-Month Peak, Set to Rise Nearly 20% for Year

A pedestrian walks past an electronic board showing the closing numbers on the Tokyo Stock Exchange, with graphs illustrating the daily movement (L) and for the last 12 months (R), along a street in central Tokyo on December 30, 2024. (AFP)
A pedestrian walks past an electronic board showing the closing numbers on the Tokyo Stock Exchange, with graphs illustrating the daily movement (L) and for the last 12 months (R), along a street in central Tokyo on December 30, 2024. (AFP)

Japan's Nikkei share average retreated from the previous session's five-month high on Monday, the last trading day in 2024, as investors locked in profits on a market set to be up a fifth for the year.

The Nikkei had fallen 0.75% to 39,979.68 by the midday break, after opening 0.11% higher. It ended at a five-month closing high on Friday after a three-session winning streak.

The index is up 19.5% so far this year, putting it just behind Pakistan and Taiwan for the year.

The broader Topix was down 0.42% to 2,789.98.

"Investors sold stocks today because they could not find clear reasons for the Nikkei to cross the 40,000 levels," said Fumio Matsumoto, chief strategist at Okasan Securities.

"But that does not mean investors are pessimistic about the market in the coming year. They may just want to avoid risks during the market close in Japan for the new year, which is longer than usual."

The Japanese markets will reopen on Jan. 6 after closing for the new year holidays from the next session.

Chip-testing equipment maker Advantest fell 3.83% to drag the Nikkei the most.

Nissan Motor slipped 5.64% to become the biggest percentage loser on the Nikkei. Nissan's shares surged nearly 40% this month as merger talks between the automaker and peer Honda Motor surfaced.

Makino Milling Machine's shares were untraded and were set to a daily limit of 10,750 yen after a surprise unsolicited takeover bid by Japanese manufacturing giant Nidec.

Takehiko Masuzawa, trading head at Phillip Securities Japan, said the Nikkei rose last week as investors bought back stocks to cover their short positions ahead of the long market holiday.

Most Viewed

 
 
Business

Oil Rises as Investors Return From Holidays, Eye China Recovery

FILE - Pump jacks extract oil from beneath the ground in North Dakota, May 19, 2021. (AP Photo/Matthew Brown, File)
FILE - Pump jacks extract oil from beneath the ground in North Dakota, May 19, 2021. (AP Photo/Matthew Brown, File)
TT
TT

Oil Rises as Investors Return From Holidays, Eye China Recovery

FILE - Pump jacks extract oil from beneath the ground in North Dakota, May 19, 2021. (AP Photo/Matthew Brown, File)
FILE - Pump jacks extract oil from beneath the ground in North Dakota, May 19, 2021. (AP Photo/Matthew Brown, File)

Oil prices nudged higher on Thursday, the first day of trade for 2025, as investors returning from holidays cautiously eyed a recovery in China's economy and fuel demand following a pledge by President Xi Jinping to promote growth.
Brent crude futures rose 17 cents, or 0.06%, to $74.82 a barrel by 0547 GMT after settling up 65 cents on Tuesday, the last trading day for 2024. US West Texas Intermediate crude futures gained 19 cents, or 0.26%, to $71.91 a barrel after closing 73 cents higher in the previous session, Reuters reported.
China's Xi said on Tuesday in his New Year's address that the country would implement more proactive policies to promote growth in 2025.
China's factory activity grew in December, according to the private-sector Caixin/S&P Global survey on Thursday, but at a slower than expected pace amid concerns over the trade outlook and risks from tariffs proposed by US President-elect Donald Trump.
The data echoed an official survey released on Tuesday that showed China's manufacturing activity barely grew in December, though services and construction recovered. The data suggested policy stimulus is trickling into some sectors as China braces for new trade risks.
Traders are returning to their desks and probably weighing higher geopolitical risks and also the impact of Trump running the US economy red hot versus the impact of tariffs, IG market analyst Tony Sycamore said.
"Tomorrow's US ISM manufacturing release will be key to crude oil's next move," Sycamore added.
Sycamore said WTI's weekly chart is winding itself into a tighter range, which suggests a big move is coming.
"Rather than trying to predict in which way the break will occur, we would be inclined to wait for the break and then go with it," he added.
Investors are also awaiting weekly US oil stocks data from the Energy Information Administration that has been delayed until Thursday due to the New Year holiday.
US crude oil and distillate stockpiles are expected to have fallen last week while gasoline inventories likely rose, an extended Reuters poll showed on Tuesday.
US oil demand surged to the highest levels since the pandemic in October at 21.01 million barrels per day (bpd), up about 700,000 bpd from September, EIA data showed on Tuesday.
Crude output from the world's top producer rose to a record 13.46 million bpd in October, up 260,000 bpd from September, the report showed.
In 2025, oil prices are likely to be constrained near $70 a barrel, down for a third year after a 3% decline in 2024, as weak Chinese demand and rising global supplies offset efforts by OPEC+ to shore up the market, a Reuters monthly poll showed.
In Europe, Russia halted gas exports via Soviet-era pipelines running through Ukraine on New Year's Day. The widely expected stoppage will not impact prices for consumers in the European Union as some buyers have arranged alternative supply, while Hungary will keep receiving Russian gas via the TurkStream pipeline under the Black Sea.