Japan stocks lose steam on profit-taking; SoftBank Group shines

TOKYO, Feb 7 (Reuters) - Japanese shares ended lower on
Friday as investors booked profit after the major indexes posted
their biggest one-day gain in more than a year in the previous
session following China's decision to halve tariffs on some U.S.
imports.
The benchmark Nikkei average .N225 ended down 0.2% at
23,827.98.
The index closed 2.4% firmer on Thursday, its most in 13
months after China's decision provided some relief to global
financial markets jolted by a fast-spreading coronavirus.
It posted a weekly gain of 2.7%, marking its best week in
eight.
Limiting losses in the index were shares of SoftBank Group
9984.T , which surged 7.1% after media reports that Elliott
Management has amassed a nearly $3 billion stake in the Japanese
conglomerate and is pushing for changes in its governance and
transparency. The broader Topix .TOPX slipped 0.2% to 1,733.32,
following a 2.1% jump in the previous session, on profit-taking
ahead of the weekend.
All but six of the 33 sector sub-indexes on the Tokyo Stock
Exchange were in negative territory, with textiles .ITXTL.T ,
air transport .IAIRL.T and insurance .IINSU.T leading the
losses.
With the earnings season in full swing in Japan, Olympus
Corp 7733.T shot up 9.9% to an all-time peak after the medical
equipment maker posted record operating profit for the
April-December period and raised its full-year profit outlook.
Although financial markets have found some comfort from
China's stimulus measures and move to cut import tariffs on some
U.S. goods, investors remain concerned about the coronavirus
outbreak and its broader impact on companies and the economy.
The virus outbreak dragged down production at more global
businesses on Thursday and the death toll jumped by 73 to 636,
with more than 31,000 confirmed infections in China, the world's
second-largest economy. Toyota Motor Corp 7203.T dipped 0.7% as the automaker said
production at all of its China plants would remain suspended
through Feb. 16, joining a growing number of automakers facing
stoppages due to supply chain issues. Honda Motor Co 7267.T declined 2.7% after the carmaker
said it will keep operations at its vehicle plants in Wuhan,
China, suspended through Feb. 13, as previously planned.
Nintendo 7974.T dropped 1% after the gaming company said
delays to production and shipping of its Switch console and
Joy-Con controllers due to the coronavirus epidemic are
"unavoidable". Elsewhere, Takara Bio Inc 4974.T jumped 11.1% following a
Nikkei report that the company is set to produce 50 times more
of a coronavirus testing reagent at its plant in Dalian in
response to an urgent request from the Chinese city.