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Japanese markets declined and suffered a fifth day of losses, as tech stocks followed their U.S. peers lower. Tokyo Electron fell 2.3 percent and Shin-Etsu Chemical lost 2.2 percent, tracking sharp losses in their U.S. counterparts. The Nikkei average fell 0.48 percent to 36,215.75 after a near 6 percent slide last week. That marked its lowest close since Aug. 9. The broader Topix index closed 0.68 percent lower at 2,579.73. Both benchmarks ended off their day's lows, tracking gains in U.S. index futures and a weakening yen. Japan's GDP grew a seasonally adjusted 0.7 percent on quarter in the second quarter of 2024, the Cabinet Office said today. That was shy of expectations for an increase of 0.8 percent, which would have been unchanged from the previous three months. On an annualized basis, GDP rose 2.9 percent - again missing forecasts for 3.1 percent growth. A measure of the public assessment of the current situation of the Japanese economy improved to the highest level in five months in August, and future conditions turned to optimistic, survey data from the Cabinet Office showed on Monday. The current conditions index of the Economy Watchers' Survey, which measures the present situation of the economy, climbed to 49.0 in August from 47.5 in July. The increase in the index was mainly driven by gains in household activity-related measures, especially in the food and beverage segment and services. The outlook index that signals future activity also improved to a 5-month high of 50.3 in August from 48.3 in the previous month. Powered by Capital Market - Live News |