Nikkei 225 Down 2.5% on COVID-19 Variant Outlook

The Nikkei 225 opened lower and declined through the day, finishing down 2.5% as traders weighed media reports of a new, COVID-19 variant from South Africa that may overcome immunizations.

Reports that Beijing officials have asked China-based ride-hailing giant Didi Global (DIDI) to delist on Wall Street also undercut sentiment.

The benchmark Nikkei 225 lost 747.66 to 28,751.62, as losing issues outnumbered gainers 218 to seven.

Leading the scant upside were Sumitomo Osaka Cement (SUCEF, 5232), up 8.9%, followed by Citizen Watch (CHCLY, 7762), up 4.2%, and then frozen-food purveyor Nicherei (NCHEY, 2871), up 1.9%.

On the downside were Keisei Electric Railway 9009, off 6.0%, and then heavy-equipment maker IHI (IHICY, 7013), off 5.7%.

The TSEREIT, an index of Tokyo-listed real estate investment trusts (REITS), declined 0.2% on the day.

The Nikkei 225 is up 4.8% year-to-date.

In other news, core consumer prices in Tokyo rose 0.3% year-over-year in November, the Ministry of Internal Affairs & Communications reported.

Also, Japan's Cabinet on Friday approved a record 36.0 trillion yen ($314 billion) supplementary budget for fiscal 2021 to fund the government's economic stimulus packages, reported Kyodo News.