Japan's Nikkei changes course to fall as investors pause buying

KFC Holdings Japan

21/05/2024 07:52

(Updates at 0600 GMT)
       TOKYO, May 21 (Reuters) - Japan's Nikkei share average
surrendered early gains to end lower on Tuesday, as investors
slowed activity ahead of U.S. chipmaker Nvidia's earnings
report.  
    The Nikkei  .N225  fell 0.31% to 38,946.93, after rising as
much as 0.7% earlier in the session. 
    The index rose 0.78% in the previous session, hitting 39,000
level for the first time in a month.
    The broader Topix  .TOPX  fell 0.3% to 2,759.72. 
    "The Nikkei's momentum didn't last as investors refrained
from active buying before Nvidia's  NVDA.O  earnings on
Wednesday," said Shigetoshi Kamada, general manager at the
research department at Tachibana Securities.
    Air-conditioner maker Daikin Industries  6367.T  fell 4.68%
to become the biggest drag on the Nikkei. Technology investor
SoftBank Group  9984.T  lost 1.64%. 
    Chip-related shares rose, with Advantest  6857.T  and Tokyo
Electron  8035.T  rising 1.45% and 0.8%, respectively.
    Insurers were strong, with MS&AD Insurance Group  8725.T 
surging 13.79% after the company said on Monday its group net
profit is forecast to rise 65% and that it would buy back up to
8.2% of its shares. 
    Peer Tokio Marine Holdings  8766.T  rose 2.34% after
announcing it would sell down cross-share holdings to zero by
the end of fiscal 2029/30. 
    The insurance sector  .IINSU.T  rose 2.29% to become the
best performer among the Tokyo Stock Exchange's (TSE) 33
industry sub-indexes.
    Sompo Holdings  8630.T  fell 6% as the insurer flagged a 45%
decline in its annual net profit. 
    KFC Holdings  9873.T  rose to a daily limit high of 6,400
yen, after being untraded with a glut of buy orders, as the
operator of Kentucky Fried Chicken outlets said U.S. buyout fund
Carlyle Group  CG.O  offered to buy shares of the company at
6,500 yen per stock.  
    Of more than 1,600 stocks trading on the TSE's prime
section, 34% of shares rose and 61% fell with 4% being flat. 
    

 (Reporting by Junko Fujita; Editing by Mrigank Dhaniwala)
 ((junko.fujita@thomsonreuters.com;))