TOKYO, Oct 14 (Reuters) - Japanese shares retreated on
Wednesday, following Wall Street's fall overnight as stalled
COVID-19 vaccine trials and lack of agreement on additional U.S.
fiscal stimulus weighed on market sentiment.
The benchmark Nikkei share average .N225 eased 0.05% to
23,589.35 by the midday break, while the broader Topix .TOPX
lost 0.51% to 1,640.69.
All but five of the 33 sector sub-indexes on the Tokyo
exchange traded lower, with airlines .IAIRL.T , iron and steel
.ISTEL.T and miners .IMING.T leading the decline on the main
bourse.
On Tuesday, major indexes on Wall Street ended lower as
Johnson & Johnson JNJ.N and Eli Lilly and Co LLY.N halted
coronavirus vaccine trials over safety concerns, dampening
investor sentiment. Fading hopes for a new U.S. coronavirus relief package were
also weighing on the market, as U.S. House Speaker Nancy Pelosi
rejected a $1.8 trillion coronavirus relief proposal from the
White House. Back home, Apple-related issues underperformed on
profit-taking and dented by a 2.7% fall in Apple Inc AAPL.O
shares following an event where the company unveiled its latest
iPhone.
Both TDK Corp 6762.T and Taiyo Yuden 6976.T fell about
0.9%, and Murata Manufacturing Corp 6981.T lost 0.63%.
Financial shares also took a hit from a weak performance in
their U.S. peers, with Sumitomo Mitsui Financial Group 8316.T
and Mitsubishi UFJ Financial Group 8306.T down about 1.7%
each, while Mizuho Financial Group 8411.T slipped 2.67%.
ANA Holdings 9202.T dipped 3.58% after reports that the
company was going to cut monthly wages for all workers by 5%.
Nippon Steel 5401.T lost 3.04% on news that the company
would sell two U.S. plants as it speeds up a reorganisation in
overseas operations.
Elsewhere, the Mothers Index .MTHR of start-up firms
gained 1.19%.