[ad_1]
* Insurers underestimate expectations for rate reductions
* Investors are unlikely to take positions in front of the Fed
By Ayai Tomisawa
TOKYO, June 18 (Reuters) – The Nikkei of Japan saw a slight dip in trading on Tuesday, but most investors remained on the sidelines before a decision by the US central bank later in the week.
The average Nikkei share fell by 0.3% to 21,067.95 points at the lunch break.
Expectations that the Federal Reserve will begin to reduce interest rates have helped global markets recover from strong sales driven by the intensification of global trade disputes.
The Fed's reserve is unlikely to reduce its rates at its Wednesday meeting, but its statement will be badyzed to find clues about possible short-term easing measures, badysts said.
"The market is almost hoping to lower US rates since the Fed chairman made remarks suggesting a lower rate," said Takuya Takahashi, a strategist at Daiwa Securities, adding that the Nikkei would probably trade around 21,500 units. if the decision is in line with market expectations.
Insurers underperformed lower rate expectations. Japan Post Insurance lost 0.8% and T & D Holdings slid 1%.
Tsuruha Holdings, a pharmacist, overcame this weakness and jumped 5.4% after posting net income growth of 5.1% to 26.1 billion yen for the year ended May 2020.
Exporters were heterogeneous: Toyota Motor Corp up 0.6%, Sony Corp down 0.7% and Tokyo Electron down 1.2%.
Tateru Inc., whose employees were involved in hundreds of cases of falsification of customer loan documents last year, dropped 16.5% after the business daily Nikkei announced that the Ministry of Lands had decided to suspend operations.
The broader Topix fell 0.1% to 1,538.22. (Edited by Kim Coghill)
Source link
