By Stanley White
TOKYO, April 8 (Reuters) - Japanese stocks fell on Thursday,
weighed by concerns over a spike in domestic coronavirus
infections and the potential return of restrictions on economic
activity.
The Nikkei 225 Index .N225 ended down 0.07% at 29,708.98,
while the broader Topix .TOPX fell 0.79% to 1,951.86.
The governor of Tokyo said on Thursday she would request
that the central government adopt emergency measures in the
capital in response to a sudden increase in coronavirus
infections and the spread of a new variant of the virus.
The western city of Osaka is also set to declare a medical
emergency after its number of new infections rose to a record
high, which has sparked alarm among public health officials.
Reduced operating hours for restaurants and shops intended
to slow the infection rate could hamper economic growth. In
addition, more analysts are starting to express concern about
Japan's slow pace of vaccination against the coronavirus.
"Japanese equities may slow down relative to other markets,"
Masayuki Kichikawa, chief macro strategist at Sumitomo Mitsui
Asset Management Co said.
"Markets are placing a lot of emphasis on the size of fiscal
stimulus and the vaccination rate. More restrictions would be a
negative factor because that would delay a recovery in services
consumption."
The underperformers on the Topix 30 were Takeda
Pharmaceutical Co Ltd 4502.T , down 3.08%, followed by
Mitsubishi UFJ Financial Group Inc 8306.T , losing 2.51%.
A gainer was Metals Ltd 5486.T , which rose 4.85%, after
the Nikkei newspaper reported that a group led by Bain Capital
has emerged as the preferential bidder for a 53% stake in the
company worth around $7.3 billion. Shares of parent company Hitachi Ltd 6501.T fell 0.87%.
Toshiba Corp 6502.T fell 0.44% a day after receiving a $20
billion offer from CVC Capital Partners to take it private.
Shares hit their highest in more than four years on Wednesday.