Japan’s Nikkei has lost much of its early gains and closed unchanged today after former Japanese Prime Minister Shinzo Abe was shot dead on the campaign trail. The Nikkei closed up 0.1 percent to 26,517.19 after gaining 1.4 percent at the start of the session.
The broader Topix lost most of its gains, closing up 0.27% at 1887.4. The Nikkei rose 2.24% over the week, while the Topix gained 2.3%.
“There were, of course, mixed reasons for the Nikkei’s decline today, but the (Abe) crash was one of those reasons because I think it still has an impact on Japan’s economic and monetary policy,” said John Morita, General research manager at Shepagen Asset Management. Abe, known for his “Abenomics” policies, which included drastic monetary easing and fiscal spending, was shot in the back by a man with an improvised weapon.
Source: El Iktisad
