TOKYO, Oct 13 (Reuters) - Japanese shares reversed course on
Tuesday to trade slightly lower as U.S. futures fell during
Asian trade, while investors looked past an overnight tech rally
on Wall Street and waited for corporate earnings results for
further direction.
The benchmark Nikkei share average .N225 slipped 0.14% to
23,525.95 by the midday break, with 84 advancers on the index
against 131 decliners. The broader Topix .TOPX lost 0.13% to
1,641.15.
Nearly two-thirds of the 33 sector sub-indexes on the Tokyo
exchange traded lower, with miners .IMING.T , oil and coal
products .IPETE.T and nonferrous metals .INFRO.T leading the
decline on the main bourse.
Earlier in the session, both indexes tracked Wall Street
higher as a renewed tech rally and expectations of a coronavirus
relief package in the United States helped lift sentiment.
But a near 0.5% drop in U.S. stock futures and a slightly
stronger yen against the U.S. dollar saw both indexes reversing
their course.
Analysts said some investors were also in a wait-and-see
mode ahead of key earnings reports, including those of J.Front
Retailing Co 3086.T and Takashimaya Co 8233.T due later in
the day.
SoftBank Group Corp 9984.T fell 0.88% on profit-taking,
erasing early gains on news that the conglomerate's Vision Fund
was preparing to launch a blank-cheque acquisition company.
Elsewhere, machinery stocks were supported by upbeat data
showing Japan's core machinery orders unexpectedly rose in
August.
Meanwhile, overseas orders, which are not included in core
orders, rose at the fastest pace since April 2014. Fanuc Corp 6954.T climbed about 3%, while SMC Corp
6273.T rose 2.57%.
The Mothers Index .MTHR of start-up firms fell 0.59% and
was set to snap six consecutive sessions of gains.