Nikkei off 29-1/2-year high as coronavirus fears sap sentiment

Kintetsu group Co

13/11/2020 02:44

TOKYO, Nov 13 (Reuters) - Japan's Nikkei share average
retreated slightly from a near 29-1/2-year high on Friday,
tracking Wall Street lower, as investor sentiment was knocked by
concerns around resurging new cases of the novel coronavirus
both at home and abroad.
    The benchmark Nikkei share average  .N225  dropped 1.08% to
25,245.92 by the midday break, having hit its highest level 
since June 5, 1991 in the previous session. 
    The Nikkei is also set to snap an eight-day winning streak,
but, it is still on course for a near 4% weekly gain, largely
thanks to the economic-recovery optimism fuelled by a promising
vaccine trial data.
    The broader Topix  .TOPX  lost 1.67% to 1,697.43. All 33
sector sub-indexes on the Tokyo exchange traded lower.
    Wall Street's main indexes closed sharply lower overnight as
daily U.S. COVID-19 infections surged above 100,000 for an
eighth consecutive day, and investors weighed the timeline for
the mass rollout of an effective virus vaccine.  .N 
    Japan reported a record high of 1,634 new cases on Thursday,
a Japanese broadcaster said.  urn:newsml:reuters.com:*:nL4N2HY2VU
    Airlines  .IAIRL.T  dropped nearly 4%, as investors worried
that another spike in virus cases could lead to renewed
restrictions.
    ANA Holdings  9202.T  slipped more than 5% and Japan
Airlines  9201.T  lost 2.4%.
    Land transport  .IRAIL.T  also took a hit, with railroad
companies such as Kintetsu Group Holdings  9041.T , Sotetsu
Holdings  9003.T  and Central Japan Railway Co  9022.T  down
between 4.4% and 6.5%.
    Rakuten  4755.T  fell more than 2.6% after it posted an
operating loss of 60.52 billion yen for the nine months ended
Sept. 30.  urn:newsml:reuters.com:*:nXB102D92V
    Nissan Motor  7201.T  climbed as much as 8% in early trade
after cutting its annual operating loss forecast by 28% on
Thursday.  urn:newsml:reuters.com:*:nL1N2HY0KP

 (Reporting by Eimi Yamamitsu)
 ((eimi.yamamitsu@thomsonreuters.com;))