TOKYO, July 8 (Xinhua) -- Tokyo stocks closed lower Wednesday as a resurgence of COVID-19 cases in the United States and elsewhere raised fears about the prospect of lockdowns and business closures being issued further hampering the global economic recovery from the pandemic.
The 225-issue Nikkei Stock Average dropped 176.04 points, or 0.78 percent, from Tuesday to close the day at 22,438.65.
The broader Topix index of all First Section issues on the Tokyo Stock Exchange, meanwhile, lost 14.48 points, or 0.92 percent, to finish at 1,557.23.
Trading got off to a circumspect start, brokers here said, after inheriting a weak lead from Wall Street overnight as a resurgence in COVID-19 cases around the world sparked fears about the economic recovery from the pandemic being derailed.
They said, specifically, concerns about rising cases in the United States and Australia had dampened investor sentiment, with fears rife about the impact on these economies a second round of lockdown measures may have, as well as the broader global economy.
Cases in the U.S. have topped the 3 million-mark, market analysts here highlighted, while rising cases in Melbourne, Australia's second-largest city, saw lockdown measures reimposed on Tuesday.
"The continued increase in infections triggered concerns about another round of economic lockdowns," Toshikazu Horiuchi, equity strategist at IwaiCosmo Securities Co., was quoted as saying.
In terms of Japan's domestic COVID-19 situation, new infections in the capital dropped below the 100-mark for the first time in seven days, but still remained comparatively high at 75 new infections, local analysts said, as the city continues to grapple with a prolonged spike in cases.
Mining, insurance and bank-oriented issues comprised those that declined the most by the close of play, and continued concerns about the global economic impact of the coronavirus sent oil exploration giant Inpex down 3.3 percent and ANA dropping by 1.4 percent by the close.
Shopping mall developer and operator Aeon Mall Co Ltd. tumbled 6.3 percent, after saying Tuesday it expected a group net loss for the year through next February, owing to heavy losses during the closures of its facilities during the coronavirus outbreak here.
Hodogaya Chemical Co Ltd., a manufacturer of material used in organic light-emitting diodes (OLED), marked a bright spot, however, surging 15.6 percent, after reports Apple Inc. will use OLED screens for its fifth-generation iPhones set to be rolled out this year.
Issues that fell outpaced those that rose by 1,686 to 420 on the First Section, while 65 ended the day unchanged and on the main section Wednesday, 1.155 billion shares changed hands, rising from Tuesday's volume of 1.093 billion shares.
The turnover on the third trading day of the week came to 2.159 trillion U.S. dollars (20.078 billion U.S. dollars). Enditem
