Nikkei snaps eight-day winning streak as COVID-19 cases surge

TOKYO, Nov 13 (Reuters) - Japan's Nikkei share average ended
lower on Friday, snapping eight consecutive sessions of gains,
as investor sentiment was knocked by concerns around resurging
new cases of the novel coronavirus both at home and abroad.
The benchmark Nikkei share average .N225 dropped 0.53% to
25,385.87. The index moved further away from a near three-decade
high hit in the previous sessions, but later pared losses to end
closer to the 29-year high.
For the week, the Nikkei gained 4.36%, largely thanks to the
economic-recovery optimism fuelled by a promising vaccine trial
data.
The broader Topix .TOPX eased 1.33% to 1,703.33. All but
one of the 33 sector sub-indexes on the Tokyo exchange ended
lower.
Wall Street's main indexes closed sharply lower overnight as
daily U.S. COVID-19 infections surged above 100,000 for an
eighth consecutive day, and investors weighed the timeline for
the mass rollout of an effective virus vaccine. .N
Japan reported a record high of 1,634 new cases on Thursday,
a Japanese broadcaster said. Airlines .IAIRL.T dropped nearly 3.6% as investors worried
that another spike in virus cases could lead to renewed movement
restrictions.
ANA Holdings 9202.T slipped 4.8% and Japan Airlines
9201.T lost 1.92%.
Land transport .IRAIL.T also took a hit, with railroad
companies such as Kintetsu Group Holdings 9041.T , Sotetsu
Holdings 9003.T and Central Japan Railway Co 9022.T down
between 3.6% and 6.8%.
Some stay-at-home stocks were bought instead, with Nintendo
7974.T and Sony Corp 6758.T rising 1.08% and 1.81%,
respectively.
Rakuten 4755.T fell more than 2.9% after it posted an
operating loss of 60.52 billion yen for the nine months ended
Sept. 30. Nissan Motor 7201.T climbed 8.75% after cutting its annual
operating loss forecast by 28% on Thursday. Elsewhere, the Mothers Index .MTHR of start-up firm shares
closed 1.93% higher.