Japan stocks drop 1.6% as oil slide, renewed pandemic woes weigh

By Stanley White
TOKYO, March 24 (Reuters) - Japanese shares fell for a
fourth consecutive session on Wednesday as renewed concerns
about the return of coronavirus lockdowns in Europe and
declining oil prices dented hopes of an acceleration in the
global economy.
The Nikkei 225 Index .N225 was down 1.64% at 28,520.84 by
0202 GMT, and the broader Topix .TOPX dropped 2.19% to
1,928.18.
Energy shares led the decline as Germany's extension of
pandemic lockdowns and lingering doubts about the safety of a
popular coronavirus vaccine curbed expectations for a rebound in
economic growth and demand for oil.
However, some technology shares got a boost on plans to
increase investment in the production of cutting-edge
semiconductors to relieve global supply shortages.
Sentiment for Japanese shares was somewhat cautious as
investors are expected to book profit before the fiscal year
ends on the last day of this month.
"The decline in oil prices is a direct blow to the energy
sector, but you can also see investors are selling shares that
until recently were rallying very sharply," said Takashi
Nishizawa, head of investment research at Nomura Securities.
"Investors are starting to realise that their optimism about
the outlook was a little excessive."
The largest percentage losses in the Nikkei index were ANA
Holdings Inc 9202.T down 7.87%, followed by Unitika Ltd
3103.T losing 7.49%, and Nippon Yusen KK 9101.T down by
7.44%.
The largest percentage gainer in the index was Nikon Corp
7731.T , which rose 8.88% on speculation it will benefit from
U.S. semiconductor maker Intel Corp INTC.O to greatly expand
its advanced chip manufacturing capacity. Tokyo Electron Ltd 8035.T rose 5.44% and Screen Holdings
Co Ltd 7735.T climbed 3.21% after the Nikkei newspaper
reported that the two companies will collaborate with a Japanese
government project that will invest in domestic manufacturing
facilities for next-generation chips.