Japan shares slip on caution ahead of earnings

By Stanley White
TOKYO, April 20 (Reuters) - Japanese shares pulled back on
Monday from a near six-week high hit in the previous session, as
caution set in before corporate earnings results that are likely
to reveal the damage wrought by the novel coronavirus pandemic.
The Nikkei index .N225 settled down 1.15% at 19,669.12,
led by declines in the consumer discretionary and healthcare
sectors.
Companies linked to consumer spending took a hit as Japanese
officials encourage more people to stay at home to limit the
spread of the novel coronavirus.
The healthcare sector initially got a boost as companies
raced to test medicines to deal with the pandemic, before giving
up some of these gains as nervous investors started to lock in
profits.
Chugai Pharmaceutical Co 4519.T and electronics maker
Omron Corp 6645.T will release their earnings on Thursday,
while semiconductor testing equipment maker Advantest Corp
6857.T and industrial robot maker Fanuc Corp 6954.T will
post their results on Friday.
Investors will closely examine the results and forecasts to
gauge the health of corporate Japan.
Companies across the globe are struggling with sudden
collapse in demand and manufacturing disruptions due to the
pandemic.
Some investors in Japan are on edge after the government
last week extended a state of emergency to cover the entire
country because of steadily rising virus cases. "A lot of companies are simply going to forego giving
forecasts due to the coronavirus, and a lot of investors are
prepared to accept that," said Hideyuki Ishiguro, senior
strategist at Daiwa Securities in Tokyo.
"There are still downside risks in Japan, because infections
are rising and the measures we've taken are not as strict as
other countries' measures."
Also weighing on investor sentiment was data showing Japan's
exports slumped the most in nearly four years in March,
highlighting the damage the pandemic has inflicted on global
trade. On the Nikkei index, there were 71 advancers on the Nikkei
index against 152 decliners.
The largest percentage losers in the index were telecom
infrastructure provider Comsys Holdings Corp 1721.T , down
4.17%, followed by Chugai Pharmaceutical, losing 3.88%, and
rival drugs maker Daiichi Sankyo Co Ltd 4568.T , down by 3.87%.
The largest percentage gainers in the index were
semiconductor manufacturing equipment maker Screen Holdings Co
Ltd 7735.T , up 4.89%, followed by digital imaging and printing
company Konica Minolta Inc 4902.T , gaining 3.87%, and Taiheiyo
Cement Corp 5233.T , up by 3.52%.
The broader Topix index .TOPX fell 0.7% to 1,432.41.
The volume of shares traded on the Tokyo Stock Exchange's
main board .TOPX was 1.07 billion, compared to the average of
2.02 billion in the past 30 days.