Transport stocks pull Tokyo shares lower as state of emergency extends

SYDNEY, May 7 (Reuters) - Japanese shares eased on their
return from a long holiday on Thursday, with airlines declining
the most, as sentiment was dampened by Tokyo's move to extend a
state of emergency and dour U.S. economic data.
The broader Topix index .TOPX dropped 0.32% to 1,426.73,
with air transport .IAIR.T and land transport .IRAIL.T among
the worst three performing sectors on the local bourse, down
6.8% and 2.9%, respectively.
Japan extended a nationwide state of emergency on Monday,
underscoring expectations that travel demand was unlikely to
recover anytime soon. Markets in Japan were closed from Monday through Wednesday
for a string of national holidays.
On Thursday, Japan Airlines 9201.T shed 6.9% and ANA
Holdings 9202.T lost 6.7% as U.S. peers plunged earlier this
week on news that billionaire Warren Buffett had sold his entire
stakes in the top four U.S. carriers. "The world has changed" for the aviation industry, Buffett
said at Berkshire Hathaway's annual meeting on Saturday.
Underlining the impact of the coronavirus outbreak, data
showed overnight that U.S. private employers laid off a record
20.236 million workers in April. Sentiment was also weighed down by renewed U.S.-China
tensions after President Donald Trump threatened Beijing with
new tariffs over its early handling of the novel coronavirus.
Meanwhile, the blue-chip Nikkei average .N225 edged up
0.28% to 19,674.77, helped by gains in semiconductor-related
stocks.
Chipmaking gear manufacturer Tokyo Electron Ltd 8035.T
rose 3.2% and test device maker Advantest Corp 6857.T climbed
3.3%, tracking gains in U.S. peers.
Nintendo Co Ltd 7974.T gained 3.3% after media reports
that the gaming company sold more than 5 million digital copies
of its latest game release of "Animal Crossing: New Horizons" in
March.
The Nikkei's heavyweight SoftBank Group Corp 9984.T fell
2.5% after WeWork co-founder Adam Neumann filed a lawsuit
against the tech conglomerate and its Vision Fund for
terminating a $3 billion tender offer to the office-sharing
startup's shareholders. Canon Inc 7751.T declined 3.0% after it said President
Masaya Maeda had retired for health reasons and Chairman Fujio
Mitarai would concurrently serve as president and chief
operation officer. The index of Mothers start-up shares .MTHR jumped 6.5% to
its highest close since Feb. 14, with biopharma AnGes Inc
4563.T soaring 24.7% to hit the daily limit on hopes for its
DNA vaccine against COVID-19.
Nomura Real Estate Holdings 3231.T surged 6.2% after
posting a 6.6% increase in net profit for the year ended March.
"I expect this two-day week to be rather quiet ahead of the
U.S. non-farm payrolls release (due on Friday) and huge earnings
next week," said Takeo Kamai, head of executions services at
CLSA in Tokyo.