TOKYO, July 28 (Reuters) – The Nikkei fell to near a six-month low on Wednesday, as a retreat in Wall Street and concerns about rising coronavirus cases soured sentiment ahead of the U.S. Federal Reserve’s policy meeting.
Shin-Etsu Chemical dipped despite fairly upbeat earnings, while Apple suppliers slipped following the U.S. tech giant’s results, signalling some growth stocks could face hurdles as the earnings season comes into a full swing.
Nikkei share average fell 1.15% to 27,648.77, edging near a 6-1/2-month low of 27,330 touched last week. The broader Topix declined 0.73% to 1,923.83, led by 1.09% fall in growth stocks.
The fall came after U.S. peers dipped ahead of the Fed’s policy meeting later in the day. The COVID-19 cases in Tokyo jumped to a record high of 2,848.
Shin-Etsu slipped 0.3% after the silicon wafer manufacturer’s forecast of a record profit for the current year came almost in line with market expectations.
“Shin-Etsu Chemical’s earnings were pretty good but today’s market reaction shows the market won’t react favourably unless there is a positive surprise,” said Norihiro Fujito, chief investment strategist at Mitsubishi UFJ Morgan Stanley Securities.
“While global economic recovery supports the market on the whole, there are risk factors such as rise in coronavirus cases due to Delta variant, concerns about China’s crackdown on tech firms. We could see the Nikkei testing 27,000.”
Suppliers of Apple saw lacklustre trade as the company forecast revenue growth would slow.
Ibiden dropped 2.5% while Murata Manufacturing lost 1.0%.
Makuake was untraded with offers inundating bids at day’s limit price and it looks set to fall 15.9% after the crowdfunding firm slashed its profit outlook for the current year.
Bicycle maker Shimano jumped 4.2% after it revised up its profit forecast above analysts’ average estimate.
Nisshin Seifun Group rose 4.7% after the flour milling and food company raised its annual earnings forecast following bumper profits in the April-June quarter.
Mitsubishi Motors jumped 7.7% after the embattled automaker revised up its earnings outlook.
SoftBank Group dropped 3.7% to an eight-month low on worries about China’s crackdown on tech firms.
Source: Read Full Article