Japanese stocks retreat as firmer yen weighs on exporters

By Tomo Uetake
TOKYO, Nov 19 (Reuters) - Japanese shares slipped on
Tuesday, with exporters pressured by a firmer yen against the
dollar, while investors awaited clarity on the progress of
negotiations to end the trade war between the United States and
China.
The benchmark Nikkei share average .N225 slid 0.5% to
23,292.65 and the broader Topix .TOPX fell 0.2% at 1,696.73.
Overnight, Wall Street's main indexes were mostly flat,
looking for direction on trade, though they ended the day
inching up to record closing levels. .N/C
CNBC reported on Monday that the mood in Beijing was
pessimistic about the prospects of sealing a phase-one deal with
Washington. On the other hand, a new extension allowing U.S. companies
to continue doing business with Chinese telecoms giant Huawei
Technologies Co Ltd HWT.UL suggested something of an olive
branch. Still, neither factor shed much light on progress in
U.S.-China negotiations, and lacklustre trading so far this week
suggests optimism that a resolution is near is beginning to run
out of steam.
The Japanese yen firmed as much as 0.2% to 108.47 JPY=
versus the dollar in Asian trade on Tuesday, weighing on
exporters as a strong local currency hurts corporate profits
when they are repatriated.
Export-oriented Toyota Motor Corp 7203.T declined 1.1%,
Fanuc Corp 6954.T dropped 1.5% and Toshiba Corp 6502.T shed
3.0%.
Semiconductor-related also shares retreated, with SUMCO Corp
3436.T down 3.1%, Disco Corp 6146.T falling 2.2% and
Advantest Corp 6857.T dropping 1.6%.
Meanwhile the Nikkei's heavyweight SoftBank Group Corp
9984.T fell 1.3% after Reuters reported that the New York
State Attorney General is investigating WeWork, citing sources.
SoftBank Group is the majority owner of the office-sharing
startup.
Elsewhere, Mitsubishi Chemical Holdings Corp 4188.T slid
3.4% after Japan's largest chemical maker said it will pay 491.8
billion yen ($4.5 billion) to make Mitsubishi Tanabe Pharma Corp
a fully-owned subsidiary.
Mitsubishi Tanabe Pharma 4508.T shares surged 22%, by
their daily limit of 300 yen, helping the pharmaceutical sector
.IPHAM.T to gain 1.7%, becoming the best-performing sector
subindex on the main board.