Nikkei falls on weak U.S. data, trade frictions; banks weak

* Double-whammy of weak U.S., China data bad for Japan
stocks-analyst
* Japan Display tumbles on 9th straight quarterly loss

By Ayai Tomisawa
TOKYO, May 16 (Reuters) - Japan's Nikkei fell on Thursday as
weak U.S. and Chinese economic data and Sino-U.S. trade
frictions soured sentiment, while banks tumbled on weak earnings
reports.
The Nikkei share average .N225 ended down 0.6% at
21,062.98 points
Adding to worries about the trade war which has already
dragged down the Japanese market by 5.4% this month, the U.S.
Commerce Department said on Wednesday it is putting China's
Huawei Technologies Co Ltd and 70 affiliates on its so-called
"Entity List." On Wednesday, U.S. retail sales posted a surprise drop in
April as consumers pulled back on their spending, according to
the U.S. Commerce Department. A separate report from the Labor
Department showed U.S. industrial production also unexpectedly
dipped in April. "Most investors expected that the U.S. economy would be
strong, so it shocked the market, especially after weak China's
economic data," said Hiroyuki Ueno, a senior strategist at
Sumitomo Mitsui Trust Asset Management.
China reported surprisingly weaker growth in retail sales
and industrial output for April on Wednesday, raising fresh
questions about the health of its economy as the U.S. ramps up
trade pressure. "It sends a cautionary signal on the soundness of (China's)
domestic economy, when external uncertainty has been elevated,"
economists at Bank Of America Merrill Lynch wrote in a research
note.
"In addition to a modest hit to exports, negative spillovers
to business confidence are likely in the near future. In the
near term, policy makers will likely keep policy easing in place
and be more accommodative until after a trade deal."
The broader Topix .TOPX fell 0.4% to 1,537.55, with most
cyclical sectors in the red. Domestic-demand sectors such as
utility, construction and railway attracted buyers.
Exporters fell, with Fanuc 6954.T sliding 1.3%, Murata
Manufacturing 6981.T shedding 5.2% and Advantest Corp 6857.T
tumbling 6.3%.
Mega banks were sold, with Mitsubishi UFJ Financial Group
8306.T dropping 3.6%, after the bank reported an 11.8% fall in
its net profit for the last fiscal year ended March 2019.
Mizuho Financial Group 8411.T shed 1.5%, after its net
profit tumbled 83% to 96.6 billion yen for the last fiscal year,
though it forecast a net profit of 470 billion yen for this
fiscal year, more than four-fold recovery on the year.
Japan Display 6740.T declined 3.2% after it posted a ninth
straight quarterly loss. Its net loss for the three months ended
March was 98.6 billion yen, versus a 147 billion yen loss a year
earlier. (Editing by Kim Coghill)