Nikkei 225

The Tokyo Stock Exchange began Wednesday with a downturn, continuing the global downward trend in financial markets under the influence of political uncertainty in Italy.

The Nikkei Index lost 1.67% - 374.17 points to 21 984.26 points at the beginning of trading.

The broader Topix index also fell 1.59 percent - 28.10 points to 1,733, 75 points.

The Tokyo Stock Exchange began Monday with a rise supported by the cheap yen and a reduction in worries about the trade war between the US and China.

The Nikkei Index recorded a plus of 0.12% at the beginning of the session ( 28.37 points to 22,958.73 ).

The Topix rose almost symbolically by 0.01% or 0.23 points to 1,815.48.

Japanese auto giant Toyota and smaller rival Mazda said on Aug. 4 that they agreed a capital tie-up to focus on joint development of electric vehicles, while building a $1.6 billion factory in the United States which will create up to 4,000 jobs.

The move comes as the automotive industry is faced with a major shift towards greener transport and greater use of information technology.

Engineers, supported by Toyota Motor Corp, demonstrated their flying car on June 3, which they hope will be able to light up the Olympic flame for the opening ceremony of the Tokyo 2020 Summer Games.

Toyota lost its crown as the world's top-selling automaker in 2016, company figures showed on Jan. 30, with the Japanese giant overtaken by Volkswagen as the industry prepares for an uncertain trade environment under U.S. President Donald Trump.

The German automaker moved back into the top spot despite being hit by a massive emissions cheating scandal that rocked its reputation.

Toyota Motor Corporation launched production of its C-HR compact SUV crossover in Turkey on Nov. 9, noting that the model would be exported to all global markets, including North America and Taiwan. 
In a statement, Toyota said production was beginning with an initial investment in Turkey of 350 million euros ($390 million) and that the production would create 2,000 new jobs. 

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Toyota Motor Corp will begin production of a new hybrid engine model based on the C-HR concept in Turkey by year-end with an investment of more than 350 million euros ($396 million), Toyota's chief executive of Europe, Johan van Zyl, said on Feb. 11, as reported by Reuters. 

Japanese factory output and U.S. consumer confidence are among the few trading cues in the last trading week of the year, with Tokyo's Nikkei 225 on track to be one of the best-performing major stock indices globally.

The Japanese market is open from today through Dec. 20 in what is expected to be quiet trading in a holiday-shortened week.

Toyota remained the top automaker in global vehicle sales after the first nine months of this year, selling nearly 7.5 million vehicles, outpacing rivals General Motors and Volkswagen.

Toyota Motor Corp.'s global sales for the first three quarters totaled 7.498 million vehicles, down 1.5 percent from the same period the previous year, according to numbers released on Oct. 26.