Japan Stocks Open Lower On Strong Yen

TOKYO, , (UrduPoint / Pakistan Point News - 27th Feb, 2017 ) - Tokyo stocks opened lower Monday as Yen strength discouraged investors already cautious as they await US President Donald Trump's policy speech to Congress this week.

Global investors have been hoping to see details of Trump's spending plans as well as proposals for tax reform, with uncertainty over their timing and size weighing on the Dollar in recent weeks.

Trump will address a joint session of Congress on Tuesday night in Washington. For Asian traders, it will come during trading hours Wednesday morning. The unconventional president is expected to outline his political and legislative priorities, including economic programmes.

"We are not sure what Trump's policies are going to be and whether he's going to implement them at all," Kumar Palghat, a portfolio manager at Kapstream Capital, told Bloomberg tv in Sydney. Treasury Secretary Steven Mnuchin has told US media that Trump will propose a budget designed to bring long-term growth by cutting taxes.

But that still left some investors doubting whether Trump can deliver what the market wants. "Investors are now worried Trump's 'phenomenal' tax plan won't be something that beats market expectations," Shinichi Yamamoto, a senior strategist at Okasan Securities told Bloomberg news, quoting the word Trump himself used to describe it.

"Sentiment is jittery over the odds of Trump's fiscal budget falling short of what's hoped for," he said. The greenback drifted down to 111.94 yen, lower than 112.13 yen seen in New York on Friday.

The benchmark Nikkei 225 index slipped 0.81 percent, or 156.05 points, to 19,127.49 in the first minutes of trading, while the Topix index of all first-section issues was down 0.86 percent, or 13.35 points, at 1,536.79. A stronger yen is a key factor for Japanese stocks as it hurts the profitability of major exporters and tends to dent demand for their shares.