As of 13:50, the Nikkei average is down 9 yen. In terms of Nikkei average contribution, companies such as Tokyo Electron <8035>, Advantest <6857>, and Softbank Group <9984> are among the top negative contributors, while companies such as Fast Retailing <9983>, Chugai Pharmaceutical <4519>, and Shin-Etsu Chemical <4063> are among the top positive contributors. In terms of sectors, transportation equipment, insurance, electric and gas utilities, services, and fisheries and forestry industries have the highest decline rates, while oil and coal products, metal products, machinery, mining, and banks have the highest appreciation rates.
The Nikkei average is hovering around the previous day's closing price. With little new material clues, active trading seems to be generally postponed as investors await the release of June's US personal consumption expenditure (PCE) price index and the results of the Bank of Japan's monetary policy meeting and the Federal Open Market Committee (FOMC) next week.