Japan stocks extend fall as lockdown worries return

By Stanley White
TOKYO, March 24 (Reuters) - Japan's Nikkei share average
fell on Wednesday for the fourth consecutive session 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 ended down 2.04% at 28,405.52.
The broader Topix .TOPX fell 2.18% to 1,928.58, posting its
biggest daily percentage decline since Feb. 26, and its third
straight session of decline.
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 from plans to
increase investment in the production of cutting-edge
semiconductors to ease 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 biggest percentage loser in the index was Unitika Ltd
3103.T , down 9.25%, followed by ANA Holdings Inc 9202.T ,
losing 7.21%, and Mazda Motor Corp 7261.T , falling by 5.92%.
The top percentage gainer in the index was Nikon Corp
7731.T , which rose 6.44% on speculation it would benefit from
U.S. semiconductor maker Intel Corp 's INTC.O move to greatly
expand its advanced chip manufacturing capacity. Tokyo Electron Ltd 8035.T rose 5.06% and Screen Holdings
Co Ltd 7735.T climbed 1.66% after the Nikkei newspaper
reported that the two companies would collaborate with a
Japanese government project that will invest in domestic
manufacturing facilities for next-generation chips. The volume of shares traded on the main board .TOPX was
1.41 billion, compared to the average of 1.44 billion in the
past 30 days.