Nikkei down but Topix flat as virus fears persist

SYDNEY, March 11 (Reuters) - Japanese shares wobbled on
Wednesday as investors remained worried about the coronavirus
epidemic and weighed stimulus packages from governments and
central banks to ease economic strains caused by the outbreak.
The Nikkei average .N225 fell 0.8% to 19,707.63 by the
midday break after briefly flirting in positive territory, but
was off a three-year low of 18,891.77 touched the previous day.
The Nikkei's volatility index .JNIV , a measure of
investors' volatility expectations based on option pricing,
remained elevated at 45.69, not far from a 4-year peak of 48.89
brushed on Monday.
The broader Topix .TOPX was flat at 1,406.22, reversing
course after rising as much as 1.1% earlier.
Yet, two-thirds of the 33 sector sub-indexes on the Tokyo
Stock Exchange traded higher, with fishing and forestry
.IFISH.T , electric and gas .IEPNG.T and sea transport
.ISHIP.T being the top three performing sectors.
In the United States, the Centers for Disease Control and
Prevention reported on Tuesday 696 cases of coronavirus, an
increase of 224 from its previous count, and said the number of
deaths had risen by six to 25. Also, U.S. President Donald Trump said he would ask Congress
for a payroll tax cut and other "very major" stimulus moves,
although the details remained unclear. As U.S. Treasury yields rose from all-time lows overnight,
rate-sensitive J-REITs and banks outperformed, with the TSE REIT
index .TREIT climbing 2.2%, while Mitsubishi UFJ Financial
Group Inc 8306.T and Sumitomo Mitsui Financial Group Inc
8316.T added 2.1% and 2.0%, respectively.
On the currency front, the dollar resumed its descent
against the safe-haven yen JPY= , last trading around 105 yen,
providing a tailwind for automakers as a weaker local currency
boosts corporate profits when they are repatriated.
Nissan Motor Co Ltd 7201.T gained 2.8%, Mitsubishi Motors
Corp 7211.T advanced 2.5% and Honda Motor Co Ltd 7267.T rose
1.4%.
Talks that the Bank of Japan may expand monetary stimulus
next week by pledging to buy exchange-traded funds (ETFs) faster
than the current pace supported investor sentiment, traders
said.