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Japan’s Nikkei index gave up most of its early gains to end flat on Friday after former Japanese Prime Minister Shinzo Abe was shot while campaigning for a parliamentary election.
The Nikkei closed up 0.1 percent at 26,517.19 after climbing as much as 1.4 percent earlier in the session.
The broader Topix also pared most of its gains to close 0.27 percent higher at 1,887.43. The Nikkei gained 2.24% for the week and the Topix 2.3%.
“There must have been mixed reasons for the decline in Nikkei gains today, but (Abe’s) accident was one of them, as I believe he still has an influence on Japan’s economic and monetary policy,” said Jun Morita, general manager of the research department at Chibagin Asset Management.
Abe, best known for his signature “Abenomics” policy, which involved bold monetary easing and fiscal spending, appeared to have been shot in the back by a man with a homemade gun.
Prime Minister Fumiko Kishida said Abe, 67, was in serious condition, expressing his wishes for the country’s longest-serving prime minister to survive the ordeal.
“Abe’s absence could affect the extremely loose monetary policy of the Bank of Japan, which is not positive for the stock market,” Morita said.
The benchmark rose more than 1 percent earlier as chip-heavy shares trailed overnight gains on Wall Street after less hawkish comments from Federal Reserve officials eased fears about a U.S. recession.
Heavy chip stocks advanced, with Tokyo Electron up 1.7% and Advantest up 1.82%.
Non-ferrous metals producers rose 2.43 percent after Reuters reported that China will set up a 500 billion yuan ($74.69 billion) state infrastructure investment fund to boost infrastructure spending.
Sumitomo Metal Mining jumped 5.2 percent and Mitsubishi Materials advanced 2.88 percent.
Seven & i Holdings cut earnings to end 0.65% lower, even after the convenience store chain raised its full-year profit forecast.
Kewpie lost 3.32% after the mayonnaise maker reported a drop in profits following a price hike.
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