Asian markets down as traders await US jobs report
Hong Kong, Jul 05, 2024 -Asian markets were largely down on Friday, a day after Tokyo's indexes hit record highs as traders prepared for a key US jobs report while European exchanges edged up on calming electoral news from the United Kingdom and France.
Japan's Nikkei 225 ended flat while the broader Topix index, which a day earlier surpassed its previous peak set in 1989, also shed some of its gains.
«The fact that the Topix, which indicates the overall performance of the Japanese market, has in turn broken its own record, is news of great importance,» said analyst Takuma Ikemoto of the Tokai Tokyo Intelligence Lab.
The capitalisation of Japan's Prime market has also increased significantly, showing «that Japanese companies are constantly strengthening their ability to generate profits and… indicates that the Japanese stock market has entered a new phase», he said.
The yen continued strengthening against the dollar after hitting its lowest level in nearly four decades.
Samsung Electronics' forecast that second-quarter profits would beat expectations by more than 25 percent, due to rising chip prices and growing demand for generative AI, sent its share price higher and spurred the market in Seoul.
But shares in Hong Kong ended a four-day winning streak, while stocks in mainland China were trading lower after the European Union slapped extra provisional duties of up to 38 percent on Chinese electric car imports on Thursday.
A European Commission probe launched last year concluded that state subsidies for
