Japan shares end higher as traders assess China virus spread, bet on drugmakers

By Stanley White
TOKYO, Jan 24 (Reuters) - Japanese shares ended slightly
higher on Friday in a see-saw session as worries about the
spread of a new virus in China
played tug-of-war with bets that the health crisis will boost
drug makers' earnings.
The Nikkei index .N225 ended 0.13% higher at 23,827.18
points, but was down 0.9% for the week.
The markets started on a positive note as information
technology and industrial equipment stocks rose following
better-than-expected sales and profit forecasts from U.S.
chipmaker Intel Corp INTC.O .
But investors turned cautious after China said the death
count from the coronavirus had risen to 25, with 830 confirmed
cases as of Jan. 23. Chinese authorities placed two cities on
lockdown to contain the virus. In the afternoon session stocks started rising again due to
gains in the healthcare sector.
Investors are worried the virus will continue to spread as
millions of Chinese travel during the week-long Lunar New Year
holiday starting on Friday.
Reports of more infections and deaths could dent travel and
tourism spending, which could impact earnings of airline and
consumer goods companies, while benefiting healthcare goods and
drugmakers.
"The number of deaths so far are relatively low, but we do
not know how this will spread during the Lunar New Year," said
Hideyuki Ishiguro, senior strategist at Daiwa Securities in
Tokyo.
"Having said that, I don't think the downward pressure on
Japanese stocks will last long."
On the Nikkei index, there were 97 advancers on the Nikkei
index against 120 decliners
The largest percentage gainers in the index were property
developer Mitsubishi Estate Co Ltd 8802.T up 3.76%, followed
by drug maker Daiichi Sankyo Co Ltd 4568.T gaining 2.61%, and
Nissan Chemical Corp 4021.T up by 2.61%.
The largest percentage losses in the index were Isuzu Motors
Ltd 7202.T down 3.68%, followed by non-ferrous metals maker
Toho Zinc Co Ltd 5707.T losing 2.87%, and Suzuki Motor Corp
7269.T down by 2.57%.
The broader Topix index .TOPX ended trade Friday unchanged
at 1,730.44. For the week, the Topix fell 0.29%.
The volume of shares traded on the Tokyo Stock Exchange's
main board .TOPX was 0.97 billion, compared with the average
of 1.1 billion in the past 30 days.