Japan shares end flat as economic uncertainty around U.S. stimulus weighs

Yakult Honsha

07/10/2020 07:11

TOKYO, Oct 7 (Reuters) - Japanese shares ended little
changed on Wednesday, as fears of a slower economic recovery
from the coronavirus crisis resurfaced after U.S. President
Donald Trump halted talks for an additional stimulus package
until after the election. 
    The benchmark Nikkei share average  .N225  was little
changed at 23,422.82 at the close, while the broader Topix
 .TOPX  was almost flat at 1,646.47. 
    Nearly a third of 33 sector sub-indexes on the Tokyo
exchange traded lower, with pharmaceuticals  .IPHAM.T ,
fisheries and forestry  .IFISH.T  and foods  .IFOOD.T  leading
the decliners on the main bourse.
    Prospects for additional U.S. coronavirus bill crumbled
after Trump announced on Twitter that he was calling off
negotiations with Democratic lawmakers on coronavirus relief
legislation until after the election.  urn:newsml:reuters.com:*:nL1N2GX1IZ
    Also weighing on the market was the uncertainty of Trump's
health, with the U.S. presidential election just less than a
month away.
    "In some part, I think President Trump is forcing himself
too hard since he has left the hospital in a short period of
time," said Masahiro Ichikawa, senior strategist at Sumitomo
Mitsui DS Asset Management.
    "It would be crucial to be cautious of how his health
progresses from now on."
    Boeing-related shares Mitsubishi Heavy Industries  7011.T 
fell 0.74%, while Kawasaki Heavy Industries  7012.T  was down
0.14%, in line with their U.S. peers as Boeing Co  BA.N  cut its
rolling 20-year forecast for airplane demand on the coronavirus
crisis.  urn:newsml:reuters.com:*:nL8N2GX5BD
    Yakult Honsha Co  2267.T  slipped 7.12% after French food
group Danone  DANO.PA  said it would sell its remaining 500
million euro ($586.60 million) stake in the Japanese probiotic
yogurt maker.  urn:newsml:reuters.com:*:nL8N2GX259
    Elsewhere, Nippon Telegraph and Telephone Corp  9432.T 
jumped 3.31% and Fanuc  6954.T  inched up 0.1%, while Fujitsu
 6702.T  lost 0.53% after the three firms said they would set up
cloud service joint venture for manufacturing companies. 
 urn:newsml:reuters.com:*:nT9N28D02Y
    The Mothers Index  .MTHR  of start-up firms climbed more
than 2%.

($1 = 0.8524 euros)
    

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