Japan Stocks Fall as Over 1,500 Topix Members Trade Ex-Dividend

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Japanese stocks fell, paring the Topix index’s first monthly advance in four months, as more than two-thirds of the companies in the measure traded without the right to receive the next dividend.

The Topix declined 1 percent to 1,368.79 at 9:01 a.m. in Tokyo, with all of the 33 industry groups sinking. The measure is on course for a 5.5 percent gain in March. The Nikkei 225 Stock Average retreated 0.8 percent to 16,997.61. More than 1,500 Topix members trade ex-dividend Tuesday, equating to a 13.2 point drag on the measure, data compiled by Bloomberg show. Federal Reserve Bank Chair Janet Yellen will speak at an event hosted by the Economic Club of New York.

Futures on the Standard & Poor’s 500 Index were little changed. The underlying U.S. equity gauge rose less than 0.1 percent after weaving between gains and losses, as investors assessed economic data for clues on the course for interest rates.

The yen traded at 113.38 per dollar on Tuesday after posting its longest streak of declines since October.

Source : Bloomberg