Morning Session: Points and Market

morning session: On Friday, the key market gauge sagged 98.40 points. ; The Topix, which covers all first-section issues on the Tokyo Stock Exchange, was 2.95 points, or 0.19 percent, lower at 1,568.57 after dropping 6.33 points Friday, according to The Japan Times. The market was weak from the beginning of the morning session, pulled down by the yen's relative strength and profit-taking mainly in semiconductor-related issues, such as Tokyo Electron, brokers said. The Nikkei 225 average fell 41.35 points, or 0.19 percent, to end at 21,616.80. The market moved narrowly in negative territory for the rest of the day, weighed down by the weakness of other Asian stock markets, especially Hong Kong and South Korea, they added. Investors refrained from active selling or buying in the afternoon before earnings announcements by major Japanese companies, such as industrial robot producer Fanuc and electronics giant Hitachi, and the U.S. Federal Reserve's policy meeting that starts Tuesday, said Tomoaki Fujii, head of the investment research division at Akatsuki Securities Inc. Brokers also cited concerns over the course of U.S.-China trade talks after U.S. White House economic adviser Larry Kudlow said on CNBC that he would not expect any grand deal in the negotiations to be held in Shanghai starting Tuesday. (news.financializer.com). As reported in the news.