Tokyo mixed as war looms
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Markets are shaky as the prospect of war against Iraq looms.
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TOKYO, Japan (Reuters) -- Tokyo stocks opened virtually flat on Monday after U.S. President George W. Bush gave the United Nations one more day to find a diplomatic end to the Iraq crisis before the United States moves to a war footing.
Electronics giant Sony Corp was down 0.23 percent at 4,280 yen in early trading, helping push the Nikkei average down 0.09 percent or 7.01 points to 7,995.68. The broader TOPIX index lost 0.01 percent to 786.00.
Bush said the U.N. Security Council must agree on Monday on a new resolution authorising war against Iraq, and left no doubt
that if not, the United States and its like-minded allies including Britain will move to invade Iraq without U.N. backing.
"It looks like war will start this week and the market is still unsure whether the Iraq situation will be resolved quickly or be a drawn-out affair," said Masayoshi Okamoto, head of dealing at Jujiya Securities.
"The Nikkei will likely straddle the 8,000 mark and trade in a very tight range," he said.
The dollar fell in early Asian trade after Bush's ultimatum, fetching 117.77 yen compared with 118.30 in late New York trade on Friday. A stronger yen could dampen investor interest in Sony and other exporter shares, traders said.
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