TOKYO, July 8 (Reuters) - Japan's Nikkei share average edged
lower on Wednesday, tracking Wall Street's overnight losses, as
investors monitored a rise in new virus cases across the world
that could derail a nascent economic recovery.
The benchmark Nikkei share average .N225 fell 0.19% to
22,571.55 by the midday break after moving in and out of
positive territory, with 102 advancers against 120 decliners.
New coronavirus cases continue to climb globally, with
California reporting a record rise for a single day and
Australia's second-biggest city Melbourne re-imposing lockdown
measures on Tuesday. On the domestic front, capital Tokyo has been registering
fresh cases exceeding 100, but Economy Minister Yasutoshi
Nishimura said on Wednesday a new state of emergency for the
coronavirus is not needed. The broader Topix .TOPX inched up 0.06% to 1,572.73 by the
recess, with about half of the 33 sector sub-indexes on the
Tokyo exchange trading higher.
Japan Display Inc 6740.T , a main supplier of liquid
crystal display panel for iPhones, slumped 4.08% after a media
report that Apple Inc AAPL.O will use OLED screens for its
fifth-generation iPhones this year. Shares of OLED manufacturers performed strongly, with
Hodogaya Chemical Co Ltd 4112.T soaring 16.63%, Sumitomo
Chemical Co Ltd 4005.T rising 1.23% and Idemitsu Kosan Co Ltd
5019.T edging 0.64% higher.
Elsewhere on the market, mall operator Aeon Mall Co Ltd
8905.T , which had temporarily closed its facilities following
the coronavirus outbreak, dropped 3.59%.
The company posted a group net loss of 13.48 billion yen for
the March-May quarter and projected a 4 billion yen loss for the
fiscal year ending February.