Japan's Nikkei gives up early gains as chip-related shares retreat
TOKYO, July 17 (Reuters) -Japan's Nikkei share average surrendered most of its early gains on Wednesday, as investors sold heavyweight chip-related stocks to book profits.
The Nikkei .N225 was up 0.08% at 41,307.36 by the midday break, after rising as much as 0.46% earlier in the session on Wall Street's strong finish overnight.
Wall Street stocks rose and the Dow Jones Industrial Average hit an all-time closing high on Tuesday after U.S. retail sales data supported the view that the Federal Reserve is approaching its easing cycle. .N
Investors sold chip-related shares, which had been behind the Nikkei's recent rally, as they shifted their focus to other stocks, said Shuutarou Yasuda, a market analyst at Tokai Tokyo Intelligence Laboratory.
Yasuda, however, said the market was firm and that was reflected in the gains of the Topix index.
The broader Topix .TOPX was up 0.47% at 2,918.18.
Defence-related stocks extended their gains from the previous session, with Kawasaki Heavy Industries 7012.T and Hitachi Zosen 7004.T up 8.43% and 8.12% respectively, as higher chances of Donald Trump winning the U.S. presidential race spurred so-called "Trump trades."
Toho 9602.T surged 11.09% after the film and entertainment company said its net profit jumped 31% in the latest quarter.
All but three of the Tokyo Stock Exchange's 33 industry sub-indexes rose, with the textiles sector .ITXTL.T gaining 2.03% to become the top performer. The property sector .IRLTY.T rose 1.67%.
Chip-making equipment maker Tokyo Electron 8035.T slipped 3.1%, weighing on the Nikkei the most. Chip-testing equipment maker Advantest 6857.T fell 0.81%.
Of the 225 components on the Nikkei, 172 stocks rose and 49 fell, with four trading flat.
Reporting by Junko Fujita; Editing by Subhranshu Sahu
Related Assets
Latest News
Disclaimer: The XM Group entities provide execution-only service and access to our Online Trading Facility, permitting a person to view and/or use the content available on or via the website, is not intended to change or expand on this, nor does it change or expand on this. Such access and use are always subject to: (i) Terms and Conditions; (ii) Risk Warnings; and (iii) Full Disclaimer. Such content is therefore provided as no more than general information. Particularly, please be aware that the contents of our Online Trading Facility are neither a solicitation, nor an offer to enter any transactions on the financial markets. Trading on any financial market involves a significant level of risk to your capital.
All material published on our Online Trading Facility is intended for educational/informational purposes only, and does not contain – nor should it be considered as containing – financial, investment tax or trading advice and recommendations; or a record of our trading prices; or an offer of, or solicitation for, a transaction in any financial instruments; or unsolicited financial promotions to you.
Any third-party content, as well as content prepared by XM, such as: opinions, news, research, analyses, prices and other information or links to third-party sites contained on this website are provided on an “as-is” basis, as general market commentary, and do not constitute investment advice. To the extent that any content is construed as investment research, you must note and accept that the content was not intended to and has not been prepared in accordance with legal requirements designed to promote the independence of investment research and as such, it would be considered as marketing communication under the relevant laws and regulations. Please ensure that you have read and understood our Notification on Non-Independent Investment. Research and Risk Warning concerning the foregoing information, which can be accessed here.
