Japan stocks drop on caution over U.S. stimulus package

TOKYO, Oct 20 (Reuters) - Japanese shares ended lower on
Tuesday, tracking overnight Wall Street losses, as investors
cautiously looked to whether U.S. lawmakers could reach an
agreement on a stimulus package as a deadline to reach the deal
came closer.
The benchmark Nikkei share average .N225 dropped 0.44% to
close at 23,567.04, while the broader Topix .TOPX lost 0.75%
to 1,625.74.
Stocks extended their losses in the afternoon as investors
succumbed to profit-taking and refrained from taking big
positions ahead of events such as the U.S. election and earnings
results at home and abroad, market participants said.
Overnight, Wall Street's main indexes closed lower as U.S.
lawmakers still appeared to struggle to reach an agreement on
the coronavirus stimulus. .N
U.S. House of Representatives Speaker Nancy Pelosi and
Treasury Secretary Steve Mnuchin "continued to narrow their
differences" in a telephone conversation, Pelosi's spokesperson
wrote on Twitter.
Pelosi had said she was optimistic that a legislation could
be pushed through before Election Day, Nov. 3, but an agreement
would have to come by the end of Tuesday for that to happen.
The stocks that gained the most among the top 30 core Topix
names were Sony Corp 6758.T up 1.83 %, followed by Fanuc Corp
6954.T .
The underperformers among the Topix 30 were East Japan
Railway Co 9020.T down 4.34%, followed by Central Japan
Railway Co 9022.T losing 3.23%.
Japan Exchange Group 8697.T dropped 1.51% after reports
that the Financial Services Agency would conduct an on-site
investigation of the Tokyo Stock Exchange and may issue a
business improvement order after a system failure caused a
full-day trade suspension earlier this month. Tokyo Dome Corp 9681.T climbed 1.5% following multiple
media reports that Hong Kong hedge fund Oasis Management had
submitted a request to the company for an extraordinary
shareholders meeting to replace top leaders.
The Mothers Index .MTHR of start-up firm shares bucked the
overall sombre trend and gained 0.5%.