Japanese stocks slide, almost erasing BOJ gains, after Yen jumps

Stocks fell in Tokyo, with the benchmark Topix index close to erasing its gains from the Bank of Japan’s latest stimulus, as exporters declined after the yen jumped against the dollar. The Topix lost 0.9 percent to 1,394.05 as of 9:10 a.m. in the Japanese capital after tumbling 3.2 percent on Wednesday. The measure briefly dropped below its closing level on Jan. 28, the day before the central bank surprised investors by saying it would adopt negative interest rates. The Nikkei 225 Stock Average slipped 0.6 percent to 17,079.75 on Thursday. The yen traded at 118.04 per dollar after strengthening 1.7 percent on Wednesday, the most since August, as weak U.S. services data fueled anxiety America’s economy isn’t immune to weakness elsewhere. “The dollar-yen has gone back to where it was before the Bank of Japan’s additional easing,” said Mitsushige Akino, executive officer at Ichiyoshi Asset Management Co. in Tokyo. “If the U.S. non-manufacturing sector is doing poorly, it’s possible that the American economy will stagnate. It’s possible that the U.S. jobs data coming out this week will be below expectations.” E-mini futures on the Standard & Poor’s 500 Index were little changed. The underlying equity gauge rose 0.5 percent on Wednesday, advancing for the first time in three days, as commodity producers rallied with crude oil. A report showed U.S. service industries expanded in January at the slowest pace in almost two years, raising the risk that persistent weakness in manufacturing is starting to spread to the rest of the U.S. economy. The services slowdown comes as investors are on guard for signs that weakness in China is spilling over. By Anna Kitanaka and Toshiro Hasegawa/Bloomberg