Nikkei 225 Falls 0.68% to 28,070 as SoftBank Plunges 11% on Subsidiary Loss

Japan's Nikkei 225 Index dropped 193.26 points, or 0.68%, to 28,070.31 on Monday, retreating below the 28,100 level as traders booked profits despite positive Wall Street cues. The index touched a low of 28,067.94 earlier. Financial stocks led the decline. SoftBank Group plummeted almost 11% after its subsidiary posted a huge quarterly loss. Sumitomo Mitsui Financial lost over 1%, Mitsubishi UFJ Financial fell nearly 1%, and Mizuho Financial declined 1.5%. Among other major losers, Dowa Holdings sank over 14%, Olympus plunged almost 9%, and Dai Nippon Printing slid more than 7%. Fast Retailing gained over 1%, while Shiseido surged almost 6%. The U.S. dollar traded in the lower 139 yen range. On Friday, the Nasdaq surged 1.9% to 11,323.33, the S&P 500 rose 0.9% to 3,992.93, and the Dow added 0.1% to 33,747.86. West Texas Intermediate crude futures rose $2.49, or 2.9%, to $88.96 a barrel.