TOKYO, June 15 (Reuters) - Japanese stocks fell on Monday as
concerns about a spike in new cases of COVID-19 worldwide poured
cold water on hopes of a quick recovery from a
coronavirus-driven global recession.
The benchmark Nikkei average dropped 0.50% to 22,194.99
.N225 by the midday break, with real estate, airlines and
shippers leading declines.
As new coronavirus cases resurfaced in China and the United
States, worries about a second wave have deepened, prompting
fears about prolonged damage to the economy. On the Nikkei index, there were 91 advancers against 125
decliners on Monday with cyclical shares leading the losses.
Airlines .IAIRL.T , one of the hardest-hit victims of the
global epidemic, were the biggest decliner among the Tokyo Stock
Exchange's 33 industry subindexes as concerns about the virus
reared their head.
Shippers .ISHIP.T dropped 0.4% and real estate .IRLTY.T
lost 1.4%.
Semi-conductor-related shares were weak, with chip equipment
manufacturer Advantest 6857.T dropping 3.57%, Tokyo Electron
8035.T losing 2.9% and Screen Holdings 7735.T shedding 2.7%.
Sapporo Holdings 2501.T lost 3.7 % after Nomura cut its
rating on the beverage firm and lowered the target price, citing
the impact of the COVID-19 epidemic.
The broader Topix .TOPX lost 0.1 % to 1569.60.
The market showed muted response to a barrage of Chinese
economic data that were slightly weaker than expected.
Industrial output rose for a second straight month in May
but the gain was smaller than expected, suggesting the economy
is still struggling to get back on track after the virus crisis.