Japan shares edge lower on lacklustre export data, profit-taking

By Stanley White
TOKYO, Dec 18 (Reuters) - Japanese shares edged lower on
Wednesday as investors stayed on the sidelines after data showed
that the trade-reliant economy's exports shrunk for the 12th
month amid the Sino-U.S. tariff war, raising the risk of a
fourth-quarter contraction.
The Nikkei index was down 0.30% at 23,993.69, as of 0147
GMT, with industrial and technology sectors leading the
declines.
In the previous session, the benchmark index touched its
highest since Oct. 4, 2018.
The Nikkei advanced 20.24% so far this year. It has surged
almost 13% from its October low, and a few investors are closing
out positions to book gains on this rally.
Official data released on Wednesday showed Japan's exports
fell 7.9% year-on-year in November. It was the longest run of
declines in exports since a 14-month stretch to November 2016 as
shipments of cars and construction machinery to the United
States and chemical products to China fell. Traders, however, are trying to look beyond the lacklustre
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.
Providing a floor under the market was positive sentiment
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. Also supporting sentiment across global equities were a
"phase-one" trade agreement between the United States and China,
and UK Prime Minister Boris Johnson's landslide election win
last week that stoked hopes of a swift Brexit.
There were 95 advancers in the Nikkei index against 128
decliners.
The largest percentage losses in the index were drugmaker
Daiichi Sankyo Co Ltd 4568.T down 4.88%, followed by silicon
wafer maker Sumco Corp 3436.T losing 3.59% and electric parts
maker Fujikura Ltd 5803.T down by 2.73%.
The largest percentage gainers in the index were industrial
conglomerate Hitachi Ltd 6501.T up 3.4%, followed by medical
equipment maker Olympus Corp 7733.T gaining 2.79% and Nippon
Electric Glass Co Ltd 5214.T , which advanced 2.37%.
The broader Topix index .TOPX rose 0.3% to 1,741.95. 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 0.5 billion, compared with an average of
1.22 billion shares in the past 30 days.