Japan's Topix ends lower as COVID-19 fears outweigh gains in chip-related shares

Toho Co (Tokyo)

19/04/2021 07:52

TOKYO, April 19 (Reuters) - Japan's Topix changed course to
close lower on Monday, while the Nikkei ended little changed, as
concerns around a resurgence of COVID-19 outweighed gains from
chip-related shares. 
    The broader Topix  .TOPX  slipped 0.22% to close at
1,956.56, while the Nikkei 225 Index  .N225  trimmed gains to
end 0.01% higher at 29,685.37.
    Japan and the United States agreed last week to cooperate on
investment in semiconductor supply chains in response to a
global shortage of chips, which is seen as positive for 
Japanese chemical and industrial companies, analysts said.
 urn:newsml:reuters.com:*:nW1N2LL02Y
    But, risks related to the rapid spread of COVID-19 remain.
The governor of Tokyo is considering another state of emergency
in response to a steady increase in virus cases. And, analysts
said, Japan's slow vaccinations' pace is also a negative factor.
    "There are several reasons that overseas investors can't
decide whether to sell or buy Japanese stocks," said Takatoshi
Itoshima, strategist at Pictet Asset Management.
    "It is not still clear the impact of the outcome of the
summit talks between the U.S. and Japan. We do not know how the
Tokyo Olympices will be held, and vaccine rollouts extremely
slow here and the virus is spreading again."
    Sumco  3436.T , up 5.66%, was the largest percentage gainer
on the Nikkei, followed by Yamato Holdings  9064.T  gaining
3.32% and Seiko Epson  6724.T  up 2.98%.
    The largest percentage loser was Shiseido  4911.T , down
4.13%, followed by ANA Holdings  9202.T  down 3.64% and Toho
 9602.T  that fell 3.38%.
    Toshiba Corp  6502.T  fell 4.35% after the Nikkei reported
that private equity firm CVC Capital Partners will delay
submitting a formal proposal to buy the Japanese industrial
group.  urn:newsml:reuters.com:*:nL4N2M93N4
    

 (Reporting by Stanley White and Junko Fujita; Editing by
Shailesh Kuber and Uttaresh.V)
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