Japan's stock market is again showing itself handcuffed to U.S. growth prospects and its own currency.
Ties tightened in the last week as separate sell-offs exceeding 1 percent befell Topix investors for no other reason than the failure of Donald Trump's health care overhaul. The U.S. president's setback heightened broader concerns about his stimulus agenda for the U.S. economy, sending the yen surging toward 110 per dollar and bringing the Topix to the brink of erasing its 2017 advance.
It's a blow to bulls who have sought evidence the Topix can chart its own course, aided by Bank of Japan stimulus at a time the Federal Reserve is cutting it off. Even forecasts for earnings growth topping 17 percent haven't been able to break the grip of the yen's advance or U.S. economic sentiment.