Japanese shares fall as rise in U.S. bond yields weigh on tech stocks

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TOKYO — Japanese shares fell on Monday, dragged down by heavyweight technology companies, after a rise in U.S. bond yields sent Wall Street lower last week.

By 0206 GMT, the Nikkei share average was down 0.5% to 28,792.16. The index fell as much as 1.2% earlier in the session eased their losses after China cut its benchmark lending rates.

The broader Topix edged lower 0.2% 1,990.45.

“Japanese market tracked Wall Street’s declines on the weekend, but moreover investors were concerned about inflation in Europe, which is higher than expected,” said Shuji Hosoi, senior strategist at Daiwa Securities.

“The yields rose because of that and that spurred concerns about economic slowdown. Today Japanese manufacturers were hit by these worries.”

Rise in U.S. yields and slowdown concerns due to fears of policy tightening on inflationary pressures in Europe, including the UK, hit Japanese companies who are mainly exporters, he added.

U.S. stocks fell on Friday in a broad selloff led by megacaps as U.S. bond yields rose, with the S&P 500 posting losses for the week after four straight weeks of gains.

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