TOKYO--Japanese stocks were down slightly Friday, struggling to
recover from a selloff Thursday following unexpectedly weak U.S.
gross domestic product figures earlier in the week.
The Nikkei Stock Average was down 0.3% at 19453.54 after losing
2.7% Thursday, the sharpest percentage-point drop since Jan. 6. New
Zealand stocks were 0.5% lower and the Australian market was almost
unchanged. Most other Asian markets were closed for Labor Day,
including China, Hong Kong, Singapore and South Korea.
Yoshihiro Okumura, general manager of research at Chibagin Asset
Management, said market participants were taking profits in
Japanese stocks that have risen so far this year. The Nikkei has
gained 12% in 2015.
The Bank of Japan maintained its current easing program
Thursday, giving market participants a signal to sell for now, as
uncertainty remains over the pace of the U.S. recovery and when the
Fed may start raising interest rates, Mr. Okumura said.
The global money flow is reversing, said Mitsushige Akino, chief
fund manager at Ichiyoshi Investment Management, with the dollar
losing ground against the euro as expectations weaken that the U.S.
central bank will raise rates in the coming weeks.
Among individual stock movers, shares of Fujitsu Ltd. were down
17% after the company said it expects net profit to drop 29% in the
fiscal year ending March 2016.
Write to Kosaku Narioka at kosaku.narioka@wsj.com
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