Japan shares closed lower for third straight session on Tuesday, 30 November 2021, dragging the benchmark Nikkei225 index to eight weeks low, amid lingering fears over the variant's potential impact on the global economic recovery from the coronavirus pandemic, especially as many aspects of the newly-discovered strain remain unknown. Meanwhile, selloff was also fuelled on stronger yen against the dollar and Moderna's chief executive officer expects existing vaccines to be less effective against the new Omicron variant. At closing bell, the 225-issue Nikkei Stock Average dropped 462.16 points, or 1.63%, to 27,821.76, its lowest closing level since 07 October 2021. The broader Topix index of all First Section issues on the Tokyo Stock Exchange fell 20.13 points, or 1.03%, to 1,928.35.
Shares of leisure-related companies continued declining due to concerns about possible fall in travel demand due to the new coronavirus variant. Travel agency H.I.S. dropped 1.5% while Tokyo Disney Resort operator Oriental Land fell 0.3%.
Export related shares were lower as the yen strengthened against the U.S. dollar. Nissan Motor lost 5.2% while Mitsubishi Motors dropped 4.4% and Toyota fell 0.6%.
Shares of land transportation issues rebounded as investors opted buying on dips following sharp falls. East Japan Railway added 1.9%, Odakyu Electric Railway Co. climbed 2.7%, and Tobu Railway gained 0.7%.
ECONOMC NEWS: Japan Industrial Output Gains 1.1% On Month In October- Japan industrial output gained a seasonally adjusted 1.1 percent on month in October, the Ministry of Economy, Trade and Industry said on Tuesday, following the 5.4 percent decline in September. On a yearly basis, industrial production retreated 4.7 percent after sinking 2.3 percent in the previous month. Upon the release of the data, the METI adjusted its monthly assessment of industrial production to that it is pausing.
Meanwhile, Japan's unemployment rate came in at a seasonally adjusted 2.7% in October, unchanged from the September reading, according to latest data released from the Ministry of Internal Affairs and Communications on Tuesday. The participation rate was 62.0%, down from 62.3% a month earlier.
CURRENCY NEWS: Japanese yen appreciated to lower 113 range against greenback on Tuesday, as demand for safe-haven currency resumed on worries over the new COVID-19 strain, which has been detected in several countries. The Japanese yen, often seen as a safe-haven currency, strengthened to 113.10 per dollar as compared with levels around 113.9 seen earlier against the greenback.
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