Nikkei Hits FiveWeek Low

(MENAFN- Qatar News Agency) Kyo may 21 (qna) - the nikkei stock index sank to a five-week intraday low wednesday morning weighed by losses in export-oriented shares on a stronger yen in thin trading before the release of the bank of japan's policy meeting outcome later in the day.

the 225-issue nikkei stock average shed 40.33 points or 0.29 percent from tuesday to end the morning at 14034.92 after briefly falling as low as 13969.71 its lowest intraday level since april 15. the broader topix index of all first section issues on the tokyo stock exchange was down 3.45 points or 0.30 percent to 1149.93.



the market got off to a weak start reflecting overnight falls in u.s. shares in which the 30-issue dow jones industrial average hit a one-month low following disappointing earnings reports from the retail sector.



the nikkei fell below the 14000 threshold soon after the opening but later recovered the psychologically important line in range-bound quiet trading nikkei asian review reported.

brokers said investors were reluctant to make bold moves before the release of the boj's two-day policy meeting and the subsequent press conference by boj governor haruhiko kuroda.

shortly after the end of the morning's trading the boj said it had decided to keep intact its current ultraloose monetary policy as widely expected. (qna)