Japanese stocks fell The yen rose for two consecutive days, putting pressure on exporters

Sina Financial News Japanese stocks fell, ending a four-day winning streak. The yen’s strength against the dollar this week weighed on exporters such as automakers and technology companies. The Topix index fell 0.4% to 2,355.63 and the Nikkei 225 index fell 0.5% to 33,503.18. Toyota Motor was the biggest drag on the Topix index, falling 1.1%. Of the 2,154 constituents, 593 rose, 1,291 declined, and 270 remained unchanged. Bank stocks were lower as investors prepared for an expected rate cut by the Federal Reserve. “Equities are likely to move lower due to a stronger yen,” said Takashi Ito, senior strategist at Nomura Securities, adding that the decline should be limited as the yen is unlikely to strengthen significantly and the performance of chip-related and machinery stocks has improved since the start of the year. The Topix index is up 25% year-to-date, while the MSCI Asia Pacific index is up 7.5% over the same period.