Japan shares end slightly higher, corporate outlook concerns cap gains

Central Japan Railway

28/04/2021 07:38

TOKYO, April 28 (Reuters) - Japanese shares closed slightly
higher on Wednesday, led by technology stocks, but concerns
about corporate outlook capped gains even as investors awaited a
decision by the U.S. Federal Reserve.
    The Nikkei share average  .N225  edged up 0.21% to close at
29,053.97, while the broader Topix  .TOPX  inched up 0.29% to
1,903.
    "There is a growing concern among investors that corporate
outlook may not meet their high expectations. That has been
proven by recent fall in shares of some renowned companies which
flagged strong outlook," said Shoichi Arisawa, general manager
of the investment research department at IwaiCosmo Securities.
    "It is hard for investors to make any move today ahead of
several significant events in Japan and the United States." 
    Japan is in the middle of the corporate earnings season,
with Sony Group  6758.T , Shin-Etsu Chemical  4063.T  and TDK
 6762.T  among major firms reporting their outlook after the
market closes on Wednesday. 
    So far, a slew of companies, including Nidec  6594.T  and
Canon  7751.T , have failed to impress investors despite
relatively strong earnings.  urn:newsml:reuters.com:*:nL1N2MK0CX
    Technology firms such as robot maker Fanuc  6954.T  rose
2.03%, while air conditioner maker Daikin Industries  6367.T 
gained 2.82%. 
    Nomura Holdings  8604.T  rose 1.54% after Japan's largest
brokerage said it would book a $2.9 billion loss from the
collapse of U.S. investment fund Archegos.  urn:newsml:reuters.com:*:nL1N2MK0BQ 
    That sent securities firms  .ISECU.T  1.82% higher, making
it the top gainer among the Tokyo Stock Exchange's 33 industry
subindexes. 
    Kansai Electric Power  9503.T  rose 2.35% after the utility
got the greenlight from local authorities to restart three
reactors.  urn:newsml:reuters.com:*:nL4N2ML14Q
    The stocks that gained the most among the top 30 core Topix
names were Sony Group, gaining 3.14 %, followed by Daikin
Industries. 
    Central Japan Railway Co  9022.T , which fell 4.42%, was the
worst performer among the Topix 30 stocks, followed by Daiichi
Sankyo  4568.T  losing 3.10%.

 (Reporting by Junko Fujita; editing by Uttaresh.V and Krishna
Chandra Eluri)
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