TOKYO, Japan (AFP) — Japan’s benchmark Nikkei index slipped Tuesday in response to Wall Street’s technology sell-off, with market heavyweight SoftBank falling for a second day.
United States technology giants including Apple and Netflix Monday suffered another bruising session in New York which analysts attributed to profit-taking.
“The upward trend in earnings for US technology companies isn’t likely to change, but with those stocks in for a speedy correction, it’s hard to buy their Japanese peers,” said Shoichi Arisawa, an equity analyst with Iwai Cosmo Securities.
“But the downside will remain supported as well, with stocks of companies with a domestic business focus that have solid earnings like retailers and builders continually on the rise,” he told Bloomberg News.
Investors were also cautious ahead of the start of a US Federal Reserve meeting later Tuesday.
The Nikkei 225 index edged down 0.05 percent, or 9.83 points, to close at 19,898.75. But the broader Topix index of all first-section issues rose 0.12 percent, or 1.96 points, to 1,593.51.
SoftBank lost 1.62 percent to 9,078 yen following a report it has reached an agreement to merge its Indian e-commerce unit Snapdeal with rival Flipkart, with Softbank to own 20 percent of the merged firm.
Japan Display, which supplies screens for Apple’s iPhone, dropped 2.39 percent to 204 yen while electronics giant Kyocera slipped 0.78 percent to 6,344 yen.
Automakers lost ground, with Nissan falling 0.18 percent to 1,075 yen while Toyota ticked down 0.10 percent to 5,874 yen.
Banking giant Mitsubishi UFJ was up 0.09 percent at 734 yen.
The dollar fetched 110.03 yen, against 109.91 in New York and 110.28 yen in Tokyo earlier Monday.
© Agence France-Presse