Nikkei 225 Down 1.6% on Pandemic Outlook

The Nikkei 225 see-sawed through Monday but finished off 1.6% after Prime Minister Fumio Kishida near midday said his administration will ban foreign visitors beginning on Tuesday due to concerns regarding the omicron variant of the coronavirus.

The benchmark Nikkei 225 declined 467.70 to 28,283.92, as losing issues outnumbered gainers 210 to 14.

Leading the upside on a down day was online medical-services outfit M3 (MTHRF, 2413), up 3.1%, followed by electronic-goods maker Nintendo (NTDOY, 7974), up 3%, and then shipper Kawasaki Kisen Kaisha (KAKKF, 9107), up 2.8%.

On the downside were railway operators Keisei Electric Railway 9009, off 7.6%, and then Tokyu (TOKUY, 9005), off 7.1%.

In economic news, October retail sales in Japan rose 0.9% from a year earlier, although largely due to an increase in the cost of fuel. Excluding fuel, October sales declined 1.2% from a year earlier, reported the Ministry of Economy Trade & Industry.

In other news, automaker Nissan said it plans to introduce a less-costly solid-state vehicle battery by 2028, and aims for 50% of vehicles sold to be battery-powered or hybrids by fiscal year 2030.