Tokyo (awp/afp) – After a slight clearing the day before, the Tokyo Stock Exchange returned clearly to the red on Friday, the probability of a postponement of rate cuts by the American Federal Reserve (Fed) continuing to strengthen.
The flagship Nikkei index lost 2% to 37,318.98 points around 00:40 GMT and the broader Topix index lost 1.4% to 2,639.99 points.
Several indicators published Thursday showed that activity in the United States is still relatively dynamic, which pushes back the long-awaited first rate cuts from the Fed even further.
Investors are now counting on a first rate cut in September, or even November, whereas a few weeks ago they were still hoping that this cycle would begin in June.
New York Fed President John Williams reiterated Thursday that he saw “no urgency” to lower rates. As for Raphael Bostic of the Atlanta Fed, he stuck to his projection of only one rate cut this year.
Sony covets Paramount (press)
Sony (-0.62%) would consider joining forces with the American investment fund Apollo to make an offer to buy the media and entertainment company Paramount Global, according to the New York Times citing sources familiar with the matter .
Paramount, however, is currently still in exclusive negotiations with the production company Skydance, according to these same sources.
Apollo previously offered more than $26 billion to buy Paramount, including its debt.
A takeover of Paramount would make Sony Pictures Entertainment even more powerful, while the Japanese group recently suffered a setback in India, where its proposed merger with Zee Entertainment exploded in mid-air.
Oil continues to decline
The dollar was perfectly stable against the yen, worth 154.57 yen around 00:40 GMT as on Thursday at 21:00 GMT.
The euro fell slightly to 164.43 yen against 164.51 yen the day before, and was trading for 1.0637 dollars against 1.0643 dollars on Thursday.
The oil market was in slight decline: after 00:20 GMT the barrel of American WTI lost 0.28% to 82.50 dollars and the barrel of Brent from the North Sea lost 0.29% to 86.86 dollars.
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