Japanese shares fall as Trump repeats threats of more tariffs on China

By Stanley White
TOKYO, Nov 20 (Reuters) - Japanese shares fell on Wednesday
after U.S. President Donald Trump said he would raise tariffs on
Chinese imports if no deal was reached with Beijing to end a
trade war.
At 0205 GMT the Nikkei index .N225 was down 0.83% at
23,096.61.
Trump's comments, which he made on Tuesday at a cabinet
meeting at the White House, further dented hopes for a
resolution to a 16-month long trade war that has curbed global
trade. The United States and China have exchanged tit-for-tat
tariffs that have roiled financial markets and threatened to
drag growth in the global economy to its lowest rate since the
2007-2008 financial crisis.
Sticking points include how and when to reduce tariffs and
how much U.S. agricultural products China would commit to buy.
Some traders are also worried about a further deterioration
in U.S.-China relations after the U.S. Senate, in a unanimous
vote, passed legislation on Tuesday to protect human rights in
Hong Kong, which has been rocked by violent protest against
Chinese rule of the former British colony. China's foreign ministry said it strongly condemned the
measure.
There were 89 advancers on the Nikkei index against 128
decliners on Wednesday.
The largest percentage losses in the index were insurer
Dai-ichi Life Holdings Inc 8750.T down 3.96%, followed by
shipping companies Mitsui OSK Lines Ltd 9104.T losing 3.93%
and Nippon Yusen KK 9101.T down by 3.87%.
The largest percentage gainers in the index were Sumitomo
Dainippon Pharma Co 4506.T up 5.45%, followed by Casio
Computer Co 6952.T gaining 2.27% and online commerce company
Rakuten Inc 4755.T up by 2.09%.
The Topix index .TOPX fell 0.68% to 1,685.19, on course
for its biggest decline since Nov. 14.
The volume of shares traded on the Tokyo Stock Exchange's
main board .TOPX was 0.4 billion, compared with the average of
1.25 billion yen in the past 30 days.

(Editing by Sam Holmes)