Japanese shares closed lower on Friday as investors waited for a U.S. inflation reading that may influence a split Federal Reserve.
The Nikkei 225 fell 1.05%, or 536.55 points, to close at 50,491.87.
The 10-year Japanese government bond yield touched 1.94%, the highest since mid-2007, before easing to 1.93%. It was heading for a 12.5-basis-point rise for the week, the sharpest five-day gain since March, while firm auction results suggested lower prices are attracting buyers.
In economic news, Japan's international reserves rose to $1.359 trillion at the end of November, up nearly $12 billion from a month earlier. Foreign currency reserves were $1.158 trillion.
Reserves remain below the record $1.41 trillion reached in November 2021, which fell the following year when the Bank of Japan used them to support the yen. Most holdings are in dollar-denominated assets, including US Treasuries, while gold also forms part of global reserve portfolios.
Japan's trade deficit narrowed to 359.4 billion yen in November from 472.6 billion yen a year earlier, as exports rose for a third month. Exports grew 5.7% to 6.292 trillion yen, while imports increased 3.5% to 6.65 trillion yen.
On the corporate front, Tokyu Fudosan (TYO:3289), which fell 2.4%, set terms for a 40 billion yen subordinated climate- and nature-linked bond, a Tokyo Stock Exchange filing said. The 37-year note, callable after seven years, carries a 2.753% coupon and will fund early redemption of an existing subordinated bond.
Innovent Biologics (HKG:1801) said its partnership with Takeda (TYO:4502) has closed, which fell 1.3%, with Innovent issuing about 6.9 million new shares at HK$112.56 each. The shares equal roughly 0.4% of its enlarged capital and generated about HK$777 million.
Celsys (TYO:3663), which declined 1.7%, said annual recurring revenue for Clip Studio Paint climbed to a record 5.3 billion yen in November, while churn held at 4.5%. Users reached 11.3 million, with 166,000 new registrations.
Comments