Japan's Nikkei edges up on exporters, TOPIX falls

By Stanley White
TOKYO, Nov 12 (Reuters) - Japan's Nikkei edged up on Tuesday
as a slightly weaker yen boosted shares of exporters, but the
broader TOPIX index fell as worries about U.S.-China trade
friction and an escalation of violence in Hong Kong hurt
sentiment.
The Nikkei index rose 0.07% to 23,348.86 by 0201 GMT.
However, the Topix index .TOPX fell 0.29% to 1,699.15, on
course for its biggest decline in more than three weeks.
The yen JPY=EBS traded near a five-month low versus the
dollar, which tends to benefit exporters because a weaker
currency helps export competitiveness and inflates earnings
repatriated from overseas.
Excluding this factor, traders avoided taking big positions
after U.S. President Donald Trump said there had been incorrect
reporting about U.S. willingness to lift tariffs on China, which
could make a resolution to a 16-month long trade war more
difficult. Traders are also watching Hong Kong. Riot police fired tear
gas at a university on Tuesday, a day after a protester was shot
and a man set on fire in some of the worst violence to rock the
former British colony in more than five months of protest
against Chinese rule. There were 85 advancers on the Nikkei index on Tuesday
against 130 decliners.
The largest percentage gainers in the index were industrial
materials makers Nitto Denko Corp 6988.T up 4.55% and Unitika
Ltd 3103.T which gained 3.98%, followed by electronics maker
Alps Alpine Co Ltd 6770.T up by 3.36%.
The largest percentage losses in the index were Mitsui
Mining and Smelting Co Ltd 5706.T down 13.01%, followed by
Japan Steel Works Ltd 5631.T losing 3.61% and processed food
maker Ajinomoto Co Inc 2802.T down by 2.47%.
Caution also ruled ahead of a speech by Trump to the
Economic Club of New York later in the day as markets awaited
any word on the Sino-U.S. 'phase one' trade deal.
The volume of shares traded on the Tokyo Stock Exchange's
main board .TOPX was 0.53 billion, compared with the average
of 1.25 billion yen in the past 30 days.

(Editing by Jacqueline Wong)