2023-08-07 01:14:00
The Tokyo Stock Exchange opened lower on Monday, in the wake of a decline on Wall Street last Friday, the employment figures in the United States having only partially comforted investors.
The flagship Nikkei index lost 0.75% to 31,950.83 points around 01:00 GMT and the broader Topix index lost 0.16% to 2,270.88 points.
Slightly fewer jobs than expected were created in the United States in July, a sign that the labor market is gradually calming down. But the average salary has increased slightly beyond expectations, a disappointment on the inflation front.
The Japanese state is considering selling its shares in NTT
The Japanese government plans to sell its shares in the telecom giant NTT (+1%) over the water to help finance the drastic increase in the defense budget without raising taxes, said Sunday Akira Amari, a weight heavyweight of the Liberal Democratic Party (PLD) in power.
NTT was privatized in 1985 but the State still holds almost a third of the capital. “Selling NTT shares over several decades would guarantee a stable source of funding” for defense, said Mr. Amari, who will lead a PLD committee responsible for reflecting on the issue.
Oil up slightly
The yen strengthened slightly once morest the dollar, which was worth 141.62 yen around 00:50 GMT once morest 141.76 yen on Friday at 21:00 GMT.
The European currency also fell a little once morest the yen, at the rate of one euro for 155.91 yen once morest 156.02 yen.
The euro/dollar rate was stable, at one euro for 1.1008 dollars.
The oil market was up slightly, as the attack overnight from Friday to Saturday on a Russian tanker by a Ukrainian drone showed that Moscow’s exports by the Black Sea might be threatened.
Around 0:45 GMT, the barrel of American WTI gained 0.34% to 83.10 dollars and the barrel of Brent from the North Sea took 0.32% to 86.52 dollars.
etb/lpa
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