Japanese shares fall, struggle to shake off Delta variant fears
19/08/2021 03:45
TOKYO, Aug 19 (Reuters) - Japanese shares slipped on
Thursday, struggling to shake off concerns that the spreading
Delta coronavirus variant could delay an economic recovery.
By midday recess, the Nikkei share average .N225 fell
0.69% to 27,394.43, inching closer to near seven-month low of
27,272 touched on July 30. The broader Topix .TOPX lost 0.74%
to 1,909,70.
"At the moment, there is no clear case to buy Japanese
shares. But support for the Nikkei seems solid around the 27,000
mark," said Hiroyuki Ueno, senior strategist at Sumitomo Mitsui
Trust Asset.
Record COVID-19 cases sprang up across Japan on Wednesday,
the media said, a day after the government expanded emergency
measures to fight a wave fuelled by the infectious Delta variant
that has put the medical system under threat. urn:newsml:reuters.com:*:nL4N2PP1YL
Soft oil prices hit shares of trading houses, with Mitsui Co
8031.T losing 5.5% and Marubeni 8002.T shedding 2.6%.
Oil companies also suffered, with Eneos Holdings 5020.T ,
Idemitsu Kosan 5019.T and Inpex 1605.T losing, 3.1%, 2.8%
and 3.5%, respectively.
Semiconductor-related shares continued to suffer from fears
about slowing growth, with Screen Holdings 7735.T 5.9% and
Advantest 6857.T losing 2.3%.
Cyclicals such as steelmakers .ISTEL.T , non-ferrous metal
firms .INFRO.T and securities brokerages .ISECU.T slumped,
with fall of 3.2%, 2.3% and 1.6% respectively.
Online brokerage and owner of a cryptocurrency exchange
Monex 8698.T fell 5.2% after a media report that U.S.
cryptocurrency exchange operator Coinbase COIN.O will start a
service in Japan.
On the other hand, the country's deepening health crisis
boosted developers of drugs and vaccines for COVID-19.
Chugai Pharmaceutical 4519.T rose 4.6%, while Shionogi
4507.T gained 4.2% and Daiichi Sankyo 4568.T added 3.4%.
(Reporting by Hideyuki Sano, additional reporting by Daiki Iga;
editing by Uttaresh.V)
((hideyuki.sano@thomsonreuters.com; +81 3 4520 1195;))