Nikkei tracks global peers higher, but virus woes undermine mood

Tokyo Steel Manufacturing

26/07/2021 07:41

TOKYO, July 26 (Reuters) - Japanese shares ended higher on
Monday, catching the tailwind from a bounce in global peers on
positive corporate earnings, though gains were curbed by
concerns that domestic COVID-19 infections could further dampen
the country's economic recovery.
    Nikkei average  .N225  rose as much as 1.77% in early trade
after a four-day weekend that marked the opening of Tokyo
Olympics, before shedding a part of the gains to close 1.04%
higher at 27,833.29.
    The broader Topix  .TOPX  closed 1.11% higher at 1,925.62,
after having risen 1.74% earlier in the session. During the long
weekend in Japan, all three major U.S. stock indexes closed at
record highs.
    "The market was strong during the U.S. and European trades.
As soon as Tokyo opened, it turned softer, which underscores the
cautious mood here. With coronavirus cases rising, investors
sell into rallies rather than bidding up," Tomoichiro Kubota, a
senior market analyst at Matsui Securities said.
    Tokyo reported 1,763 cases on Sunday, up 75% from a week
ago.  urn:newsml:reuters.com:*:nL4N2P107S
    Nidec  6594.T  fell 3.2% as some investors were disappointed
after the motor maker failed to upgrade its annual profit
outlook despite the solid rise in quarterly profit.  urn:newsml:reuters.com:*:nL1N2OX0CW
    "The results were pretty good, but its share reaction
suggests shares that have very high investor expectations may
have hard time advancing gains," Matsui Securities' Kubota said.
    Elsewhere, Tokyo Steel Manufacturing  5423.T  jumped 9.3%
after the company boosted earnings forecast sharply.
 urn:newsml:reuters.com:*:nXB0MO3LAP
    That helped to boost other steelmakers' shares, with
industry leader Nippon Steel  5401.T  up 3.7%.
    Toray  3402.T  gained 5.2% after Nikkei business daily
reported that the chemical company's quarterly profit had likely
soared. The firm will announce its earnings next week.
    Morito  9837.T , a trading company that has
skateboard-related items in its lineup of goods, jumped 11.9%
after two Japanese skateboarders won gold medals at the
Olympics.   urn:newsml:reuters.com:*:nL4N2P102I urn:newsml:reuters.com:*:nL4N2P20QI 
    SoftBank Group  9984.T  bucked the trend to fall 2.1%,
dragged lower by worries about the firm's exposure to Didi
 DIDI.N  and other Chinese tech firms as China intensifies
crackdown on them.   urn:newsml:reuters.com:*:nL4N2OY27V  urn:newsml:reuters.com:*:nL1N2OZ17U

 (Reporting by Hideyuki Sano, Editing by Sherry Jacob-Phillips)
 ((hideyuki.sano@thomsonreuters.com; +81 3 4520 1195;))