Tokyo shares rise as virus cases slow in Japan, but U.S.-China tensions weigh

SYDNEY, May 18 (Reuters) - Tokyo stocks edged higher on
Monday as signs of a slowdown in coronavirus infections raised
optimism that Japan would soon ease restrictions in additional
prefectures, although escalating Sino-U.S. trade tensions kept
investors wary.
The benchmark Nikkei average .N225 rose 0.7% to 20,177.79
by the midday break, erasing early losses.
The daily number of new coronavirus cases reported in Tokyo
dropped to five on Sunday, the lowest since the capital was
placed under a state of emergency on April 7. Japan lifted a state of emergency in large parts of the
country on Thursday but said it would remain in place in Tokyo
until the novel coronavirus was contained. Increasing tensions between the United States and China, the
world's two largest economies, sent shares of chipmaking-related
companies and electric component makers reeling.
The Trump administration on Friday moved to block global
chip supplies to blacklisted telecoms equipment giant Huawei
Technologies, spurring fears of Chinese retaliation and
hammering makers of chipmaking equipment on Wall
Street. .N
Tokyo-listed chipmaking-related stocks also took hit after
the Philadelphia semiconductor index .SOX lost 2.2% on Friday.
Screen Holdings Co Ltd 7735.T tumbled 12.5%, while Tokyo
Electron Ltd 8035.T and Advantest Corp 6857.T slid 2.7% and
2.6%, respectively.
The broader Topix .TOPX added 0.6% to end at 1,460.06 by
the recess, with three-fifths of the 33 sector sub-indexes on
the Tokyo exchange trading higher.
Mining .IMING.T , fish and forest .IFISH.T and oil and
coal products .IPETE.T were among the top-performing
sub-indexes on the main bourse.
Oil and gas companies Inpex Corp 1605.T and Japan
Petroleum Exploration Co Ltd 1662.T jumped 3.8% and 7.5%
respectively, as U.S. crude prices climbed 7% on Friday to their
highest since March on strengthening fuel demand. O/R
Elsewhere, Sumitomo Mitsui Financial Group (SMBC) 8316.T
gained 4.9% as the megabank's annual net profit overtook that of
rivals Mitsubishi UFJ Financial Group (MUFG) 8306.T and Mizuho
Financial Group 8411.T for the first time.
Meanwhile, data showed Japan's economy slipped into
recession for the first time in 4-1/2 years, putting the nation
on course for its deepest postwar slump, but had limited impact
on the market.