Japanese shares nearly flat as tech gains offset year-end selloff by funds

TOKYO, March 10 (Reuters) - Japanese shares were little
changed on Wednesday, as gains in technology stocks tracking an
overnight Wall Street rally offset a fiscal year-end sell off
by domestic funds.
The Nikkei index .N225 was up 0.03% at 29,036.57 by
0214GMT, while the broader Topix .TOPX inched up 0.06% to
1,918.79.
Nikkei rallied to a 30-year high last month on expectations
of a swift economic rebound and robust corporate earnings. Fund
houses are booking profits before the fiscal year ends this
month.
"This is all about the move toward the fiscal year end,"
said Shoichi Arisawa, general manager for investment research
department at IwaiCosmo Securities.
"Pension and other funds are trying to cut their stock
holdings that increased during the rally. The sell-off will
continue throughout the month and this will weigh on indexes."
Technology shares rose tracking an about 4% gain in
tech-heavy Nasdaq in its biggest single-day rise since Nov. 4,
as U.S. bond yields retreated. .N
Fanuc 6954.T gained 2.58%, while Sony 6758.T and Nidec
6594.T rising 2.41% and 1.89%, respectively.
Terumo rose 1.83% after the medical equipment maker said it
has developed a new syringe that can get seven doses out of each
vial of COVID-19 vaccine made by Pfizer Inc PFE.N .
Steel and mining sectors fell the most among the 33 sector
sub-indexes on Topix, with JFE Holdings 5411.T , Kobe Steel
5406.T and Nipon Steel 5401.T dropping 3.71%, 3.59% and
3.47%, respectively.
Index heavyweights Fast Retailing 9983.T , a Uniqlo brand
clothing shop operator, lost 0.77% and investment fund manager
SoftBank Group 9984.T declined 1.34%.
Top percentage gainers in Nikkei were Dai Nippon Printing
7912.T , jumping 6.75%, followed by Yamaha Motor 7272.T and
Yamato Holdings 9064.T gaining 4.54% and 3.09%, respectively.
Top percentage decliners were M3 Inc 2413.T down 5.59 %,
followed by Tokyo Electric Power 9501.T losing 3.58% and JFE
Holdings.
There were 89 advancers on Nikkei against 131 decliners.