Tokyo shares snap 4-day winning streak amid U.S.-China tensions

TOKYO — Tokyo shares fell Friday, with both the benchmark Nikkei and Topix indexes snapping their four-day winning streaks, amid concern about worsening U.S.-China tensions over Beijing's new security law that Washington says will undermine the autonomy of Hong Kong.

The 225-issue Nikkei Stock Average ended down 38.42 points, or 0.18 percent, from Thursday at 21,877.89. The broader Topix index of all First Section issues on the Tokyo Stock Exchange finished 13.67 points, or 0.87 percent, lower at 1,563.67.

Decliners were led by iron and steel, marine transportation and air transportation issues.

In the currency market, the U.S. dollar sagged into the lower 107 yen range amid speculation that Washington may roll out new sanctions against China when President Donald Trump holds a press conference later in the day, dealers said.

Stocks moves without clear direction in afternoon trading as investors awaited the news conference, brokers said.

"If it's about measures impacting directly on (U.S.-China) trade, like imposing new tariffs, it could be bad news (for markets)," said Norihiro Fujito, senior investment strategist at Mitsubishi UFJ Morgan Stanley Securities Co.

Investor concerns deepened after the Chinese Embassy in the United States issued a statement warning against external interference in China's domestic affairs.

Market sentiment was also dented by Japan's weaker-than-expected industrial output data for April and an increase over the last few days in the number of new coronavirus cases in Tokyo, which added to fears that Japan could be struck by a second wave of infections after the government completely lifted a state of emergency this week.

On the First Section, declining issues outnumbered advancers 1,438 to 674, while 58 ended unchanged.

Nissan Motor dropped 48.50 yen, or 10.8 percent, to 400.90 yen after reporting Thursday a net loss of 671.22 billion yen ($6.2 billion) for fiscal 2019 ended in March, the company's first full-year red ink in 11 years, as the pandemic hit its global sales.

That also dragged down Mitsubishi Motor, Nissan's business partner. It lost 30 yen, or 9.0 percent, to 304 yen.

Machinery and technology issues with large exposure to the Chinese market also took a big hit.

Fuji Electric sagged 156 yen, or 5.1 percent, to 2,879 yen. Chip equipment maker Screen Holdings was down 165 yen, or 3.3 percent, at 4,825 yen while industrial robot maker Fanuc dropped 545 yen, or 2.8 percent, to 19,215 yen.

Trading volume on the main section rose 2,383.86 million shares from Thursday's 2,087.53 million shares.

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