Tokyo stocks end flat after N.Korea missile launch

TOKYO: Tokyo stocks closed flat yesterday as North Korea’s latest missile launch had a muted impact on markets, with all eyes on US, Japanese and Chinese economic data this week.

Pyongyang’s test-firing of a missile Monday into Japan’s maritime economic zone was its third test in as many weeks, carried out in defiance of UN sanctions warnings and US threats of possible military action.

Despite swift political reaction from Japan and South Korea’s leaders, analysts said financial markets were getting used to news of Pyongyang’s provocations.

“The impact on the Tokyo market is limited,” Okasan Online Securities’ chief strategist Yoshihiro Ito said in a commentary.

The benchmark Nikkei 225 index closed 0.02 per cent, or 4.27 points, lower at 19,682.57, while the broader Topix index of all first-section shares gained 0.05 per cent, or 0.79 points, to end the session at 1,570.21.

“The start of the week is likely to be a quiet one,” Rodrigo Catril, currency strategist at National Australia Bank, said in a commentary.

“That said, later in the week, we could get some market volatility with key...data releases,” he said, referring to China’s purchasing managers index and US data including payrolls due on Friday, among others.

Japan also releases household spending and factory output this week.

Sony shares ended the day up 0.72 per cent at 4,038 yen, Nintendo rose 1.31 per cent to 33,950 yen, while Toyota added 0.48 per cent to finish at 5,970 yen.

Toshiba rose 1.50 per cent to 262.3 yen amid reports that its talks with US joint venture partner Western Digital over the sale of a key memory chip factory were progressing well.

Sharp, which announced on Friday it expects to return to profitability this year, ended flat at 415 yen, after rising four per cent earlier in the day.

Oil explorer Inpex fell 1.40 per cent to 1,016 yen. — AFP