TOKYO, May 8 (Reuters) - Japanese shares ended lower on
Monday, as investors sold stocks as the yen strengthened against
the dollar, and concerns surrounding the U.S. banking sector
persisted.
The Nikkei index fell 0.71% to 28,949.88, closing
below the 29,000-mark for the first time since April 28.
The index hit its highest level since January 2022 last
Tuesday before the market closed for a three-day holiday for the
Golden Week break.
The broader Topix slid 0.21% to 2,071.21.
"The market fell today partly due to the stronger yen, but
also investor sentiment was weak as the Dow ended at a lower
level on Friday compared with the beginning of the long weekend
in Japan," said Jun Morita, general manager of the research
department at Chibagin Asset Management.
"There are also lingering worries about another failure of a
bank in the U.S."
The yen gained against the dollar last week after
the U.S. Federal Reserve hinted at a pause in its monetary
tightening cycle.
A stronger yen tends to push exporter shares lower as it
decreases the value of overseas profits in yen terms when firms
repatriate them to Japan.
Oil explorers lost 1.71% to become the worst
performers among the Tokyo Stock Exchange's 33 industry
sub-indexes, followed by banks , which fell 1.27%.
Uniqlo brand owner Fast Retailing Co Ltd fell
3.13%, becoming the biggest loser on the Nikkei. Technology
investor SoftBank Group Corp lost 0.97%.
Trading houses rose after Warren Buffet said on Saturday he
is more comfortable with Berkshire Hathaway Inc deploying capital in Japan than Taiwan, reflecting the growing
tensions between the United States and China.
The billionaire investor recently increased investments in
five Japanese trading houses, including Itochu Corp and
Marubeni Corp .
Itochu rose 1.35%, while Marubeni slipped during the session
after it flagged declines in full-year profit forecast, but
later recovered to edge up 0.1%.
(Reporting by Junko Fujita; Editing by Sonia Cheema and Varun H
K)
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