Japanese shares inch down as investors await key U.S. economic data

Murata Manufacturing Co

01/06/2021 03:58

TOKYO, June 1 (Reuters) - Japanese shares edged lower in
see-saw trade on Tuesday, as investors awaited two key U.S.
economic reports, although the declines were capped by hopes of
a domestic economic recovery on delayed-but-steady rollouts of
COVID-19 vaccines.
    The Nikkei share average  .N225  slid 0.31% to 28,770.26 by
0215 GMT, while the broader Topix  .TOPX  inched down 0.16% to
1,919.86. 
    "Investors want to confirm the strength of U.S. recovery
from the factory and job data to be announced later," said
Masahiro Ichikawa, chief market strategist at Sumitomo Mitsui DS
Asset Management. 
    U.S. factory activity numbers will be released on Tuesday,
while payrolls data, to be out on Friday, will be the main event
of the week. Median jobs forecasts are pegged at 650,000, but
the outcome is uncertain following April's unexpectedly weak
266,000 gain. 
    Among shares and sectors in Japan, steel makers  .ISTEL.T 
led the Nikkei's declines, with JFE Holdings  5411.T  falling
2.81% and Nippon Steel  5401.T  losing 2.38%. 
    IHI  7013.T  jumped 3.61% after Nomura Securities changed
its rating for the heavy-industry manufacturer, while its peer
Mitsubishi Heavy Industries  7011.T  gained 2.29% after Nomura
raised its target price. 
    Renesas Electronics  6723.T  rose 2.6% after the chipmaker
said it expects a domestic chip plant that had been damaged in a
fire in March to return to full production capacity around
mid-June.  urn:newsml:reuters.com:*:nT9N2MY020
    Toyota Motor Corp  7203.T , up 1.72%, gained the most among
the top 30 core Topix names, followed by Murata Manufacturing 
 6981.T , which gained 1.22%. 
    The underperformers among the Topix 30 were Takeda
Pharmaceutical Co Ltd  4502.T , falling 1.72%, followed by
Recruit Holdings  6098.T  losing 1.66%.
    There were 96 advancers on the Nikkei index against 121
decliners. 
    

 (Reporting by Junko Fujita; editing by Uttaresh.V)
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