Nikkei down after Wall St plunge, but Topix up on more BOJ buying

SYDNEY, March 17 (Reuters) - Japan's Nikkei dipped on
Tuesday after Wall Street saw the worst session since the 1987
Black Monday, but the broader market was higher as the central
bank's pledge to buy risky assets lent support.
The overall sentiment, however, was fragile as lockdowns in
Europe and the United States to combat the coronavirus' spread
fanned fears of further economic pain from the pandemic that has
battered global financial markets.
The benchmark Nikkei average .N225 ended the morning
session 0.5% lower at 16,923.34 in choppy trade, having touched
its lowest since November 2016 earlier in the session.
The Nikkei's volatility index .JNIV , a measure of
investors' volatility expectations based on option pricing, fell
5.3% to 57.43. However, it was not far from Monday's nine-year
peak of 60.86.
The broader Topix .TOPX was up 0.4% at 1,240.97 by the
midday break, after earlier falling to 1,199.25, its lowest
since June 2016.
Hopes that the Bank of Japan will buy more Exchanged Traded
Funds (ETFs) supported the broader market's move, traders said.
The BOJ decided on Monday to buy ETFs at an annual pace of
around 12 trillion yen ($113 billion), double the previous
amount, until markets stabilise from the recent rout.
It will also double the pace of purchases for Japanese
real-estate trust funds (J-REIT) to 180 billion yen per year,
for the time being.
The self-isolation and quarantines due to the virus
increased the appeal of gaming stocks and food makers, with
Nintendo Co Ltd 7974.T jumping 5.3%, while Nichirei Corp
2871.T and Yamazaki Baking Co Ltd 2212.T advanced 1.5% and
5.8%, respectively.
On the flip side, Japan Airlines Co Ltd 9201.T declined
1.6%, dragged down by increasing government travel restrictions
and plunging demand.
Elsewhere, Japan's top oil and gas company Inpex Corp
1605.T slid 2.5% after crude oil futures CLc1 LCOc1 fell
below $30 a barrel on Monday. = 106.3600 yen)