Japan shares end lower on gloomy earnings, Sino-U.S. tensions

SumCo

07/08/2020 08:18

TOKYO, Aug 7 (Reuters) - Japanese shares ended lower on
Friday as Sino-U.S. tensions heightened following a U.S. ban on
transactions with China's tech firms, while a raft of lacklustre
domestic earnings and caution ahead of key U.S. jobs data also
weighed.
    The benchmark Nikkei share average  .N225  fell 0.39% to
22,329.94.
    Tokyo shares tracked China and Hong Kong stocks lower in the
afternoon, as the Trump administration unveiled bans on U.S.
transactions with ByteDance's TikTok and Tencent-owned WeChat,
stoking fears that a "silicon curtain" is emerging between the
two superpowers.  urn:newsml:reuters.com:*:nL1N2F9037
    Japan stock markets will be closed on Monday for a public
holiday.
    U.S. non-farm payroll due later in the day is widely
expected to show that jobs creation in the United States slowed
in July from the prior month, indicating a resurgence in
COVID-19 infections is undermining the world's largest economy.
 urn:newsml:reuters.com:*:nL1N2F81J1
    SUMCO Corp  3436.T , which produces equipment for making
semiconductors, slid 8.97% after reporting a 26.8% decline in
its January-September net profit.
    SUMCO's fall pulled down peer Advantest Corp  6857.T  by
4.77%, while Screen Holdings Co Ltd  7735.T  lost 3.05%.
    Shiseido Co Ltd  4911.T.  slumped 8.64% after the cosmetics
firm forecast a net loss and lower dividend for the full year.
 urn:newsml:reuters.com:*:nL4N2F8204
    Some analysts argue that the decline in corporate profit has
bottomed out and earnings will gradually recover, as game and
electronic commerce industries saw a surge in demand from people
staying indoors during the lockdown.
    Nintendo Co Ltd  7974.T  rose 2.58% after posting a
five-fold jump in quarterly profit.
    Square Enix Holdings Co Ltd  9684.T  spiked 12.4% and marked
a record high after the gaming company posted a 241.4% increase
in its operating profit for the three-month period ended June
2020.
    Mercari Inc  4385.T  also jumped 10.94% to its highest level
since June 2018, as the flea market app operator logged a
better-than-expected operating loss for the year ended June 30. 
    The broader Topix  .TOPX  lost 0.2% to 1,546.74.

    ($1 = 105.5500 yen)

 (Reporting by Eimi Yamamitsu; Editing by Rashmi Aich and Sherry
Jacob-Phillips)
 ((eimi.yamamitsu@thomsonreuters.com;))