REFILE-Nikkei down, investors still wary over U.S.-China trade

(Corrects typographical error in headline.)
By Tomo Uetake
TOKYO, Nov 29 (Reuters) - Japanese shares declined on Friday
amid lingering worries U.S. legislation backing Hong Kong
protesters could derail a prospective U.S.-China trade deal,
though they managed a third consecutive month of gains.
The benchmark Nikkei average .N225 dropped 0.5% to
23,293.91 but were up 1.6% for the month. For the week, it eked
out a 0.8% gain, to mark its first weekly rise in three weeks.
U.S. S&P 500 mini futures ESc1 were last down 0.3%. New
York markets were shut on Thursday for Thanksgiving holiday and
many investors kept to the sidelines on Friday, waiting to see
how U.S. markets perceive the latest clash between Washington
and Beijing over Hong Kong.
China warned the United States on Thursday it would take
"firm counter measures" in response to U.S. legislation backing
anti-government protesters in Hong Kong. Slides in Hong Kong and mainland Chinese shares soured
investor sentiment in the afternoon session, analysts said. The
Hang Seng index .HSI was last down 2.0%.
"The question is what real actions Beijing will take. The
working assumption for most investors is that this will not
derail the trade talks, given China is suffering from an
economic slowdown," said Norihiro Fujito, chief investment
strategist at Mitsubishi UFJ Morgan Stanley Securities.
The broader Topix .TOPX slipped 0.5% to 1,699.36, with all
but three of its 33 subsectors finishing in negative territory.
Restaurant search website operators Kakaku.com Inc 2371.T
slid 3.2% and Gurunavi Inc 2440.T slumped 3.9% after media
reported that Japan's antitrust watchdog has been investigating
major restaurant finders over alleged unfair booking practices.
On a positive note, the dollar last traded at 109.48 versus
the yen JPY= , not far from its six-month peak of 109.61 marked
on Wednesday, and provided some support to export-oriented firms
as a softer yen boosts overseas profits when repatriated.
Struggling industrial conglomerate Toshiba Corp 6502.T
jumped 3.0%, while Sony Corp 6758.T hit its 12-1/2-year
intra-day peak before ending the session 0.1% higher.
Panasonic Corp 6752.T advanced 2.3% after the electronics
giant said it would sell its loss-making semiconductor unit to
Taiwan's Nuvoton Technology Corp 4919.TW for $250 million.