Tokyo shares close higher as weaker yen lifts automakers; virus caps gains

TOKYO, Feb 20 (Reuters) - Japanese stocks ended higher on
Thursday as a rapidly weakening yen, which hit a near 10-month
low versus the dollar overnight, lifted export-focused
automakers, but the gains were capped by concerns over the
impact of the coronavirus outbreak.
The benchmark Nikkei average .N225 ended up 0.3% at
23,479.15, while the broader Topix .TOPX added 0.2% to
1,674.48.
Both indexes erased most of their early gains on news that
two passengers from the virus-hit cruise ship moored near Tokyo
have died and 29 people were in a serious condition, analysts
said. About two-thirds of the 33 sector sub-indexes on the Tokyo
Stock Exchange finished in positive territory, with mining
.IMING.T , transport equipment .ITEQP.T and paper and pulp
.IPAPR.T being the top three performers.
The yen dived to its lowest level since early May versus the
dollar of JPY=EBS overnight, providing a tailwind for Japanese
exporters as a weaker local currency boosts corporate profits
when they are repatriated.
Toyota Motor Corp 7203.T advanced 2.8%, while Honda Motor
Co Ltd 7267.T rose 2.2% and Subaru Corp 7270.T added 2.4%.
The Nikkei's heavyweight SoftBank Group 9984.T climbed
3.4% after the tech conglomerate said it plans to borrow up to
500 billion yen ($4.5 billion) from 16 domestic and foreign
financial institutions using almost a third of its stake in
telco SoftBank Corp 9434.T as collateral. Seven & i Holdings 3382.T tumbled 8.8% after Bloomberg
reported that the retail group is in exclusive talks to buy
Marathon Petroleum Corp's MPC.N Speedway business. However,
Seven & i said the firm is considering acquisitions but nothing
has been decided. Elsewhere, Maeda Road Construction 1883.T dived 8.4% after
the company said it plans to pay a special dividend of 53.6
billion yen to counter a takeover bid by its biggest shareholder
Maeda Corp 1824.T . = 111.2400 yen)