Japanese shares ease off 5-week high on virus fears
16/07/2020 04:55
TOKYO, July 16 (Reuters) - Japanese shares slipped on
Thursday as investors booked profit after sharp gains in the
previous session, and worries over rising coronavirus cases
dampened hopes for a swift economic recovery.
The benchmark Nikkei shares average .N225 fell 0.49% to
22,831.96 by the midday break, retreating from a five-week high
hit in the previous session.
Investor sentiment took a hit as Tokyo raised its
coronavirus alert to the highest level on Wednesday and
infections continued to rise in other parts of Japan, such as
Osaka prefecture, which registered its highest number of daily
cases since mid-April. urn:newsml:reuters.com:*:nL3N2EM04X
Even robust China data showing the world's second-largest
economy rebounded more than expected in April-June from a record
contraction did little to lift market sentiment. urn:newsml:reuters.com:*:nB9N2EK046
urn:newsml:reuters.com:*:nL3N2EK27H
Pharmaceutical .IPHAM.T , precision machinery .IPRCS.T
and info and telecom .ICOMS.T were the three worst performers
on the main bourse.
Semiconductor issues underperformed, with Screen Holdings Co
Ltd 7735.T dropping 3.8%, while Advantest Corp 6857.T and
Tokyo Electron Ltd 8035.T eased 3.39% and 3.14%, respectively.
Among gainers, Japan Exchange Group Inc 8697.T jumped
5.14% after Nikkei Inc said it would add the stock to the Nikkei
average from July 29, replacing Sony Financial Holdings Inc
8729.T .
The broader Topix .TOPX fell 0.27% to 1,585.27, with
almost a third of the 33 sector sub-indexes on the Tokyo
exchange trading lower.
(Reporting by Eimi Yamamitsu; Editing by Subhranshu Sahu)
((eimi.yamamitsu@thomsonreuters.com;))