Tokyo stocks wobble after China reports sharp rise in virus deaths

TOKYO, Feb 13 (Reuters) - Japanese shares wobbled on
Thursday as a sharp jump in the death toll from the coronavirus
triggered concerns that the epidemic could get worse before it
is brought under control.
The benchmark Nikkei average .N225 slipped 0.14% to
23,827.73, while the broader Topix .TOPX fell 0.34% to
1,713.08.
The death toll in China's Hubei province, the epicentre of
the flu-like virus outbreak, rose by 242 to 1,310 as of
Wednesday. A record 14,840 cases were reported in Hubei on
Thursday, from 2,015 new cases nationwide a day earlier, under a
new method for diagnosing cases. The safe-haven yen JPY=EBS firmed against the dollar,
pulling back from the three-week low of 110.15 yen hit on
Wednesday and weighed on export-related stocks.
About two-thirds of the 33 sector sub-indexes on the Tokyo
Stock Exchange were trading lower, with iron and steel
.ISTEL.T , machinery .IMCHN.T and paper and pulp stocks
.IPAPR.T leading the losses.
Tokyo-listed shares were weighed down by worries of supply
chain disruptions from the virus outbreak in China.
A bright spot was Taiko Pharmaceutical 4754.T , which
soared 6.8% to a record high on increasing demand for the
drugmaker's virus-removal and infection-control products.
Nikkei's heavyweight SoftBank Group Corp (SBG) 9984.T
retreated 5.1%, after a 11.9% surge on Wednesday in response to
a U.S. federal judge's approval of a takeover of its unit Sprint
S.N by T-Mobile TMUS.O .
The tech conglomerate's third-quarter operating profit fell
99%, pulled down by losses at the $100 billion Vision Fund, but
its founder and Chief Executive Officer Masayoshi Son said the
company's performance was already improving. Big investors who are critical to SBG's plans for a second
massive tech investment fund are refusing to take part unless
the first Vision Fund can turn around its performance, Reuters
reported on Thursday citing sources. Bucking the broader weakness, chip-related stocks continued
to attract buying.
Semiconductor equipment maker Tokyo Electron Ltd 8035.T
climbed 2.1% to an all-time high as the world's largest chip
gear maker Applied Materials Inc AMAT.O forecast
better-than-expected revenue and profit for the second quarter.
Sanyo Shokai Ltd 8011.T gained 3.4% after U.S. activist
investor RMB Capital said the Chicago-based firm requested the
Japanese clothing company to seek a strategic buyer.