Nikkei slips, SoftBank Group tumbles after Nasdaq rout

TOKYO, Sept 7 (Reuters) - Japan's Nikkei share average
.N225 slipped on Monday following a drop on Wall Street while
SoftBank Group 9984.T sank on reports that it had made massive
bets on U.S. technology shares just as a rally in the sector
cooled off.
The Nikkei dropped 0.50% to 23,089.95, while the broader
Topix .TOPX shed 0.42% to 1,609.74, with both the indexes
falling further from their six-month highs touched on Thursday.
"Because the market had risen by factoring all the positive
factors ranging from more stimulus and vaccine developments, it
is hard from here to advance further," said Daisuke Uchiyama,
senior strategist at Okasan Securities.
Concerns about high valuations sent Wall Street's tech-heavy
Nasdaq sharply lower during the last two sessions, its biggest
setback after almost six months of strong gains. In Japan, SoftBank Group on Monday sank 7.2% to a two-month
low, posting its biggest fall since late March.
The company made significant option purchases during the
run-up in the U.S. stock market in recent weeks as a way of
temporarily investing some proceeds from asset sales, people
familiar with the matter said on Friday. Mobile phone carriers KDDI 9433.T , SoftBank Corp 9434.T
and NTT DoCoMo 9437.T fell between 1.1% and 2.2% as Yoshihide
Suga, who is expected to win a ruling party leadership election
next week to succeed Prime Minister Shinzo Abe, has been calling
for lower mobile tariffs.
Bank shares .IBNKS.T rose 0.2%, with Aomori Bank 8342.T
and Michinoku Bank 8350.T adding 8.5% and 8.9%, respectively,
after local media reported that the two banks based in northern
Japan were discussing business integration.
Although the banks said a decision has not been made, the
news fanned hopes for more mergers in Japan's crowded banking
sector.
Industry robot maker Fanuc 6954.T jumped 6.8% after
business daily Nikkei reported the company plans to triple
output of a type of factory robot due to increased automation
demand following the COVID-19 pandemic.