Japanese shares fall as household spending slumps; SoftBank Group soars
07/07/2020 04:59
TOKYO, July 7 (Reuters) - Japanese shares edged lower on
Tuesday after data showed that domestic household spending had
dropped at the fastest pace on record in May during the
coronavirus-led lockdown, pushing the world's third-largest
economy deeper into decline.
Despite positive cues from Wall Street, the benchmark Nikkei
average .N225 was down 0.56% at 22,587.73 by the midday break,
a day after the index marked its highest close since June 10.
U.S. stocks saw sharp overnight gains, with Nasdaq hitting
an all-time high on strong services industry activity in June
along with investor optimism about a revival in China's economy.
Data showed that U.S. services industry activity rebounded
sharply in June, almost returning to its pre-COVID-19 pandemic
levels, but a resurgence in coronavirus cases that has forced
some restaurants and bars to close again threatens the emerging
recovery. urn:newsml:reuters.com:*:nN9N2BW01G
Closer home, Japan's household spending had slumped 16.2% in
May at the quickest pace on record, with the coronavirus
outbreak leading to large cuts in spending on hotels,
transportation and eating out. urn:newsml:reuters.com:*:nL4N2ED1RU
The broader Topix .TOPX inched down 0.48% at 1,569.54 by
the recess.
All but seven of the 33 sector sub-indexes on the Tokyo
Stock Exchange were in negative territory, steel makers
.ISTEL.T , drugmakers .IPHAM.T and banks .IBNKS.T leading
the losses.
Department store operator Takashimaya Co Ltd 8233.T
slipped 2.64% after the company reported a net loss of 20.53
billion yen in the March-May quarter, with sales nearly halving
from the previous year. urn:newsml:reuters.com:*:nXB16D9ZP5
Bucking the overall weakness, Nikkei heavyweight SoftBank
Group Corp 9984.T climbed 3.26% after the company's massive
buybacks, reaching levels unseen since during the dot-com bubble
in early 2000. urn:newsml:reuters.com:*:nL4N2EE0CS
(Reporting by Eimi Yamamitsu, Editing by Sherry Jacob-Phillips)
((eimi.yamamitsu@thomsonreuters.com;))