Nikkei finishes flat despite powerful chip makers



[ad_1]

* Eisai falls to the daily low limit

* Eisai news reminds the market of the crash of SanBio – badysts

* Financial stocks fall with falling US yields

By Ayai Tomisawa

TOKYO, March 22 (Reuters) – The Nikkei of Japan has evolved little on Friday, as the stock-related chips outweighing weak financial stocks and drug makers, which plummeted after Eisai's decision to end its Alzheimer drug trials.

The average Nikkei stock closed down 0.1% at 1,627.34 points, after positive and negative inflows and outflows. The index rose 0.8% for the week.

The broader Topix rose 0.2 percent to 1,617.11.

Flea equipment manufacturers surged, tracking an increase in US stocks over the course of the night. Advantest Corp jumped 6.2% and Tokyo Electron 5.2%.

But financial stocks sold after the gap between the yield on three-month and 10-year bills reached its lowest level since August 2007, following the Federal Reserve's decision. to stop tightening monetary policy.

A narrower gap between three-month and ten-year returns indicates the market's increased expectations of a recession.

"The recovery in the US technology sector indicates that growth stocks are backtracking," said Norihiro Fujito, chief investment strategist at Mitsubishi UFJ Morgan Stanley Securities.

"In contrast, financial stocks are under pressure, reflecting the accommodative stance of the Fed."

Insurers and banks, who are looking for higher yielding products such as US bonds, have fallen. T & D Holdings lost 1.1%, Dai-ichi Life Holdings lost 1.2% and Mitsubishi UFJ Financial Group lost 0.5%.

The drug sector was also in the spotlight, registering a 3% drop and was the worst performer on the board.

Eisai Co plunged 17% into a daily low of 7,565 yen after the drug's manufacturer and partner Biogen Inc. announced the end of two trials of their experimental drug, aducanumab, for treatment of Alzheimer's disease.

The news has resulted in other pharmaceutical brands such as Astellas Pharmaceutical, which plunged 3.5%, and Takeda Pharmaceutical, which dropped 0.7%.

"This is a blow to the hopes of new treatments, because this drug against Alzheimer's disease was one of the drugs that had to succeed," said Yoshihiro Okumura, managing director of Chibagin Asset Management.

He added that the news of Eisai reminded the market of the crash of SanBio Co in January, when investors were disappointed to learn that Dainippon Sumitomo Pharma Co had found that the clinical trial of their drug in the United States had not succeeded.

"There is one thing in common with the case of SanBio, whose shares have gone up as expected but have collapsed," Okumura said, adding that the failure of his Alzheimer's drug was a warning to investors that they were not going to pay for it. they should not be overly optimistic about the research and development of drug manufacturers. (Edited by Kim Coghill)

Our standards:The principles of Thomson Reuters Trust.
[ad_2]
Source link