Nikkei eases on auto export slump, geopolitical tensions

TOKYO, June 17 (Reuters) - Japanese shares fell on Wednesday
as automakers dragged on weak export data, while escalating
tensions between North Korea and South Korea also doused the
market sentiment.
The benchmark Nikkei average .N225 fell 0.74% to 22,414.50
by the midday break, while the broader Topix lost 0.50% to
1,585.51. The index had posted its biggest intraday percentage
gain in three months in the previous session.
Japan's exports shrank to the lowest levels in a decade as
shipments of automobile to the United States slumped. This
offset optimism around an overnight rally on Wall Street, where
all three major U.S. stocks hitting third consecutive daily
gains. MKTS/GLOB Shares of export-oriented automakers underperformed, with
Mazda Motor 7261.T dropping 4.73%, Hino Motors 7205.T down
4.39% and Isuzu Motors 7202.T falling 4.11%.
Investors were also rattled by escalating tensions between
North Korea and South Korea after North Korea demolished an
inter-Korean liaison office and rejected an offer by South Korea
to send special envoys, vowing to send troops back to the
border. On the Nikkei index, there were 28 advancers against 192
decliners.
As concerns about the coronavirus progress resurfaced,
highly cyclical airlines .IAIRL.T went down 2.19% and iron and
steel .ISTEL.T dropped 1.83%.
Bucking the overall market's weakness, SoftBank Group
9984.T advanced 3.93% after the Wall Street Journal reported
that the Japanese technology company plans to sell "a
significant portion" of its stake in T-Mobile TMUS.O to
controlling shareholder Deutsche Telekom AG DTEGn.DE .
Nichi-Iko Pharmaceutical Co Ltd 4541.T , a generic
pharmaceutical manufacturer that sells dexamethasone, gained
3.91% after a preliminary trial results in the United Kingdom
showed that this steroid drug reduced death rates by around a
third among the most severely ill COVID-19 patients.
In the startup market, the Mothers Index .MTHR climbed
2.14%.