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| - Tokyo stocks closed lower on Monday, with fears over increasing global virus infections outweighing hopes for a resumption of business activity and investors eyeing economic indicators due this week. The benchmark Nikkei 225 index ended down 0.18 percent, or 41.52 points, at 22,437.27, while the broader Topix index fell 0.23 percent, or 3.71 points, to 1,579.09. "Concerns over a second wave of the coronavirus infection abroad led sell orders in early trade, although some started bargain hunting later," Okasan Online Securities said. US stocks on Friday lost ground after Apple announced it would close some stores that had recently reopened as coronavirus cases rise. While infections have fallen sharply in America's Northeast and much of the Midwest, states including Florida, Nevada and Arizona have reported record case counts in recent days. Brazil registered its 50,000th death from the coronavirus outbreak on Sunday, underlining Latin America's desperate struggle to contain the disease, as Europe's gradual emergence from lockdown was marked by Spain reopening its borders. The World Health Organization has warned of a "new and dangerous phase" of the pandemic, with people tiring of lockdowns despite the virus's accelerating spread. And on Monday, Australians were warned to avoid travelling to Melbourne, as the country's second biggest city tightened coronavirus restrictions amid fears of a second wave of the epidemic. Looking ahead, investors are closely monitoring a set of global data including US existing home sales for May due later in the day, and the German Ifo business climate index due on Wednesday, Ichiro Asai, Daiwa Securities strategist, said in a commentary. The dollar fetched 106.89 yen in Asian trade, against 106.84 yen in New York on Friday. In Tokyo, game giant Nintendo closed down 0.73 percent at 50,150 yen, Uniqlo casual wear operator Fast Retailing slipped 0.38 percent to 62,710 yen, and Toyota was down 0.48 percent at 6,818 yen. Some drugmakers were higher, with Chugai Pharmaceutical ending up 3.25 percent at 17,320 yen and Shionogi up 2.16 percent at 7,087 yen. kh/sah/amj
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