Japanese shares edge up as Hong Kong, China markets stabilise

* Nikkei gains 0.06%, Topix adds 0.1%
* Unizo surges on report of takeover bid from U.S.
investment firm

By Shinichi Saoshiro
TOKYO, Aug 16 (Reuters) - Japanese shares edged up Friday
after markets in China and Hong Kong found some stability amid
ongoing unrest in Hong Kong, but the gains were limited by
nagging fears of a global economic slowdown.
The Nikkei index .N225 gained 0.06% on Friday to
20,418.81. The index fell 1.2% in the previous session.
"The rise by equities in Hong Kong and Shanghai amid a
suggestion by U.S. President (Donald) Trump to China's president
that they discuss issues, including the situation in Hong Kong,
has supported the market," said Yutaka Miura, senior technical
analyst at Mizuho Securities.
"But the market's gains are limited by global recession
fears."
President Trump said on Thursday that he had a call
scheduled soon with Chinese President Xi Jinping, but he did not
say when.
The Nikkei has lost 1.3% this week, during which an
inversion of the U.S. Treasury yield curve -widely regarded as a
recession signal- triggered a global sell-off in riskier assets.
Some exporters fared a little better as the yen's advance
against the dollar stalled. Nissan Motor Co 7203.T was up
0.6%, Panasonic 6752.T added 0.5% and Hitachi 6501.T gained
0.6%.
Semiconductor manufacturer Renesas 6723.T climbed 3.3%
after its U.S. peers such as Applied Materials Inc AMAT.O and
Nvidia Corp NVDA.O posted upbeat results.
Other tech-related shares also gained, with Tokyo Electron
8035.T rising 2% and Toshiba Corp 6502.T adding 1.3%.
Unizo Holdings 3258.T jumped 15.7% after the Nikkei daily
reported that U.S. investment firm Fortress Investment Group
will offer to buy the hotel operator, launching a counter bid
against travel agency H.I.S. Co 9603.T . H.I.S. rose 5.8% amid speculation that it could potentially
pull back from a financially taxing takeover in the face of
competition from Fortress.
Financial shares remained under pressure, with this week's
sharp drop in bond yields seen hurting their profitability.
Sumitomo Mitsui Financial Group 8316.T was down 0.5% and
Shinsei Bank 8303.T shed 2%.
There were 131 advancers on the Nikkei index against 88
decliners.
The largest percentage gainer in the index was Daiwa House
Industry Co 1925.T , which rose 5.1%. The largest percentage
loser was Recruit Holdings Co 6098.T , which suffered a loss of
3.1%.
The volume of shares traded on the Tokyo Stock Exchange's
main board .TOPX was 0.86 billion, compared to the average of
1.13 billion yen in the past 30 days.
The broader Topix .TOPX added 0.1% to 1,485.29.

(Editing by Simon Cameron-Moore)