Japan stocks end lower on profit taking as investors await earnings

By Stanley White
TOKYO, Oct 12 (Reuters) - Japanese stocks fell on Monday as
concerns about upcoming corporate earnings reports prompted some
investors to take profits, with industrial and consumer
discretionary sectors leading the decline.
The Nikkei index .N225 ended down 0.26% at 23,558.69,
while the broader TOPIX .TOPX fell 0.24% to 1,643.35.
Shares of Yaskawa Electric Corp 6506.T were the biggest
decliner on the Nikkei, sinking 5.43% after the industrial robot
maker said on Friday it expects its dividend payments to fall by
around half. Analysts said the news also weighed on broader sentiment,
with investors also reluctant to buy stocks due to uncertainty
about the U.S. presidential election on Nov. 3 and how that will
affect economic policy.
"Yaskawa released their earnings early, and what they've
done with their dividend puts a spotlight on whether other
companies will follow suit," said Norihiro Fujito, chief
investment strategist at Mitsubishi UFJ Morgan Stanley
Securities.
"The Nikkei is already at a very high level, so investors
are easily tempted to take profits."
The second-biggest decliner in the Nikkei was engineering
conglomerate JGC Holdings Corp 1963.T losing 4.27%, followed
by Citizen Watch Co Ltd 7762.T down by 3.94%.
The largest percentage gainers in the index were healthcare
services provider M3 Inc 2413.T up 2.91%, followed by airline
ANA Holdings Inc 9202.T gaining 2.65%, and equity investor
SoftBank Group Corp 9984.T up by 2.64%
There were 59 advancers on the Nikkei index against 162
decliners.
Data earlier on Monday showed Japan's core machinery orders
- a leading indicator of capital expenditure - unexpectedly rose
in August in a positive sign for the economy, but this did not
help Japanese stocks. The volume of shares traded on the Tokyo Stock Exchange's
main board .TOPX was 0.73 billion, compared with the average
of 1.16 billion in the past 30 days.