Japan’s Tokyo Stock Exchange halted trading on Thursday due to a technical issue, while many major markets in the region were closed for holidays.
In Japan, the Nikkei 225 inched back 0.19 points, or 1.5%, to 23.184.93.
Japan Exchange Group said on Thursday afternoon that the Tokyo Stock Exchange halted trading for the day following a hardware glitch.
The Japanese government had instructed the exchange to identify the cause of the technical issue.
On the economic data front, the headline large manufacturers index in the Bank of Japan’s quarterly tankan business sentiment survey came in at minus 27, against expectations of a minus 23 reading in an economist poll. Still, that was better than the minus 34 reading in June.
The Japanese yen traded at 105.51 per U.S. dollar after seeing levels above 105.6 against the greenback yesterday.
Markets in Hong Kong, Shanghai, Korea, and Taiwan were shuttered for holiday.
In corporate developments, shares of Singapore telecommunications firm Singtel jumped about 1.4% in Thursday afternoon trade after the firm announced that its CEO is set to retire on Jan. 1, 2021.
The Australian dollar changed hands at $0.7183 following its rise yesterday from levels below $0.715.
In other markets
In Singapore, the Straits Times Index took on 34.12 points, or 1.4%, to 2.500.74
In New Zealand, the NZX 50 gained 65.44 points, or 0.6%, to 11,812.73.
In Australia, the ASX 200 recovered 56.99 points, or 1%, to 5,872.93
