By Stanley White
TOKYO, Dec 18 (Reuters) - Japanese shares ended lower on
Wednesday, after data showed that the trade-reliant economy's
exports shrunk for the 12th straight month amid the Sino-U.S.
tariff war, raising the risk of a fourth-quarter contraction,
and as investors booked profits.
The Nikkei index .N225 ended down 0.55% at 23,934.43, with
the industrial and healthcare sectors leading the declines. The
index had slipped 0.61% earlier in the session, its biggest
intraday percentage loss since Dec. 4.
The Nikkei touched its highest since Oct. 4, 2018 on
Tuesday.
Traders are trying to look beyond the disappointing export
data as a de-escalation in the U.S.-China trade dispute and an
improving U.S. economy fuelled expectations that Japan's exports
will recover next year. "There are expectations that the economic outlook will
improve and we have some positive U.S. data, so the fundamentals
look solid. There is no reason to aggressively sell stocks,"
said Shusuke Yamada, head of forex and Japan equity strategy at
Merrill Lynch Japan Securities Co in Tokyo.
Sentiment was supported by following U.S. data that showed a
rebound in manufacturing and a bigger-than-expected increase in
U.S. housing starts, lifting Wall Street to a record high on
Tuesday. There were 62 advancers on the Nikkei index, against 158
decliners.
The largest percentage losers in the index were drugmaker
Daiichi Sankyo Co Ltd 4568.T down 5.58%, followed by
industrial equipment maker IHI Corp 7013.T losing 3.53%, and
shipping company Kawasaki Kisen Kaisha Ltd 9107.T down by
3.43%.
The largest percentage gainers in the index were industrial
conglomerate Hitachi Ltd 6501.T up 3.14%, followed by Nippon
Electric Glass Co Ltd 5214.T gaining 2.83%, and Taiheiyo
Cement Corp 5233.T up by 2.58%.
After the closing bell, Hitachi said it will sell a stake in
its listed unit Hitachi Chemical Co 4217.T to Showa Denko
4004.T for 494 billion yen ($4.55 billion). Isuzu Motors Ltd's 7202.T shares ended up 1.54% after a
media report that it will cooperate with Sweden's Volvo AB
VOLVb.ST on next-generation trucks. The automakers officially
announced the tie-up after the market closed. The broader Topix index .TOPX fell 0.5% to 1,738.40. On
Tuesday it reached the highest since Oct. 10, 2018.
The volume of shares traded on the Tokyo Stock Exchange's
main board .TOPX was 1.28 billion, compared with an average of
1.22 billion shares in the past 30 days.
($1 = 108.6400 yen)