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"News out of Italy and Europe's situation are weighing on stocks"
- Soichiro Monji, chief strategist at Daiwa SB Investments Ltd.
Japanese stocks declined on Monday amid uncertainty over the new government in Greece and rising yields in Italy. The Nikkei 225 lost 0.39%, or 34.31 points, to 8,767.09, while the broader Topix decreased 0.21%, or 1.57 points, to 750.45.
"There's going to be some uncertainty of what the direction of the unity government is," said Tim Schroeders, fund manager at Pengana Capital Ltd. in Melbourne. "It's an opportunity to sit back and wait for clarity in terms of how governments and investors are going to approach the European situation."
"Opposition is mounting in Italy against Prime Minister Berlusconi, which is feeding concern that the nation can't make much progress on rebuilding its finances," said Soichiro Monji, chief strategist at Tokyo-based Daiwa SB Investments Ltd. "News out of Italy and Europe's situation are weighing on stocks as well as bad earnings."