The Tokyo stock exchange closed with a small profit on Monday. Optimism about the recovery of the world economy resulted in strong price gains among Japanese sea transport companies and car manufacturers.
In contrast, companies more focused on the domestic economy were disposed of over concerns about the continued rise in corona infections in Japan and the slow vaccination program.
The main index in Tokyo, the Nikkei 225, ended up 0.2 percent in the plus at 28,364.61 points. The strongest risers were the large container carriers Kawasaki Kisen and Mitsui OSK Lines, with profits of more than 7 and more than 4 percent, respectively. Toyota, the largest car manufacturer globally, rose more than 1 percent and reached a new record level.
Competitors Honda and Nissan won around 1 percent. Department store company J. Front Retailing fell 2 percent on concerns about the ongoing wave of new corona infections in Osaka, Japan’s second-largest city.
The stock market gauge in Shanghai was 0.1 percent higher while the Hang Seng index in Hong Kong fell 0.4 percent. Chinese companies active in crypto coins were under pressure. Beijing announced that it would crack down on the trade and mining of bitcoin, the largest cryptocurrency in the world.
Mining is the validation and recording of payments in the blockchain, whereby the so-called miners have a chance to win new bitcoins. China has been warning against speculative trade in digital currencies for some time now. Also, crypto coins may not be used for payments in the country.
