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| - Tokyo stocks closed lower Friday following a mixed close on Wall Street as traders digested reports that a possible coronavirus vaccine had failed early trials. The benchmark Nikkei 225 index lost 0.86 percent, or 167.44 points, to end at 19,262.00. Over the week, it dropped 3.20 percent. The broader Topix index was down 0.33 percent, or 4.69 points, at 1,421.29 -- losing 1.47 percent since last Friday. US stocks ended flat Thursday, having pared early strong gains after a news report, citing inadvertently released results, said the closely watched antiviral drug remdesivir had had no effect on patients in its first randomised clinical test. In Japan, authorities are closely watching the forthcoming Golden Week holidays when people have been asked to refrain from travelling. "The government policies are not legally binding so there is the possibility that the infection will spread further," said Okasan Online Securities. "This Japan-specific risk could weigh on the market." The dollar fetched 107.67 yen in Asian trade against 107.62 yen late Thursday. Major Tokyo-listed shares were lower, with Uniqlo casual wear operator Fast Retailing dropping 1.99 percent to 47,580 yen, SoftBank Group off 1.21 percent at 4,395 yen and Sony lower by 0.81 percent at 6,706 yen. Fujifilm, which is carrying out clinical trials of its anti-flu drug Avigan for coronavirus patients, was up 0.21 percent at 5,123 yen and Nintendo advanced 0.51 percent to 46,900 yen. Japan's core consumer price index, which excludes fresh food, was up 0.4 percent in March from the previous year, in line with market expectations. kh-nf/ric/dan
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