SoftBank Group keeps Nikkei afloat as tech shares stand out
09/11/2021 03:35
TOKYO, Nov 9 (Reuters) - Big gains for SoftBank Group kept
Japan's Nikkei share average in the black on Tuesday, leading an
outperformance in technology stocks while most shares on the
index fell.
Startup investor SoftBank Group Corp 9984.T was the top
performer on the Nikkei in terms of index points, rallying 10.1%
as of the midday break. The company announced a 1 trillion yen
($8.8 billion) share buyback after the market close on Monday,
at the same time as revealing a quarterly loss as its portfolio
companies slumped. urn:newsml:reuters.com:*:nL1N2S000C
The Nikkei .N225 held on to post a 0.1% advance to
29,536.17. It earlier rose as much as 0.82% before briefly
dipping into negative territory.
Tech was handily the best performing sector, rallying 1.84%.
Smart phone app company DLE Inc 3686.T was the top
percentage gainer, surging 21.15% after announcing financial
results.
Internet Initiative Japan Inc 3774.T jumped 8.55% after
SMBC Nikko Securities upgraded the stock and raised its target
price.
Heavyweight chipmakers Advantest 6857.T and Tokyo Electron
8035.T rose 1.99% and 0.51%, respectively.
However, more than twice as many shares fell than rose on
the Nikkei, with real estate, consumer non-cyclicals and
industrials the worst performing sectors.
The broader Topix .TOPX slipped 0.08% to 2,033.58.
"Because of its heavy weighting, SoftBank Group is lifting
the Nikkei, but essentially the market is down," said a market
participant at the domestic securities company.
"Japan isn't seeing the speed of economic recovery of
somewhere like the U.S., so it seems likely that the Nikkei will
continue to be hemmed in around 29,500 for the time being."
While U.S. stocks eked out small gains to post new record
highs overnight, S&P 500 futures EScv1 pointed to a 0.19%
decline at the reopen.
A strengthening yen also weighed on sentiment, as the
currency rose as far as 112.985 per dollar on Tuesday.
Among notable decliners, Fujikura 5803.T was the Nikkei's
worst performer, slumping 5.97% following disappointing
financial results.
Internet retailer Rakuten Group 4755.T dropped 3.88%,
Uniqlo operator Fast Retailing 9983.T lost 1.55% and Toyota
Motor 7203.T slipped 0.44%.
(Reporting by Tokyo markets team)
((Kevin.Buckland@thomsonreuters.com;))