Japan stocks slip on vaccine worries, profit-taking ahead of earnings

By Stanley White
TOKYO, Jan 26 (Reuters) - Japanese shares fell on Tuesday,
as worries about delays in distributing coronavirus vaccines and
as jitters before earnings season triggered profit-taking in
stocks that are sensitive to the economic cycle.
The Nikkei 225 Index .N225 fell 0.65% to 28,635.54 by 0136
GMT, with consumer cyclicals, energy and materials makers
leading the decline. The broader Topix .TOPX fell 0.52% to
1,852.34.
The United States has struggled to ramp up vaccinations,
European countries are facing delays from suppliers, and Japan
is yet to start vaccinations, which is weighing on investor
sentiment. In addition, Merck & Co Inc MRK.N has ended development of
its COVID-19 vaccines, raising additional concern about a lack
of supply.
Japanese shares jumped to a 30-year high last week, but a
busy earnings calendar in the United States and Japan this week,
as well as a Federal Reserve meeting ending Wednesday, is
prompting investors to take profits.
"There are renewed concerns that the coronavirus will be
with us longer than anticipated, which explains the decline in
cyclical stocks and gains in defensive shares," said Norihiro
Fujito, chief investment strategist at Mitsubishi UFJ Morgan
Stanley Securities.
Several Bank of Japan policymakers called for more flexible
purchases of exchange-traded funds, which may emerge as another
negative factor for equities when the central bank reviews its
policies in March, according to some analysts. Top underperformers on the Topix 30 were Daikin Industries
Ltd 6367.T , down 2.38%, followed by Toyota Motor Corp 7203.T
losing 2.07%.
Top gainers were Takeda Pharmaceutical Co Ltd 4502.T , up
1.99%, followed by Nidec Corp 6594.T rising 1.96.
There were 57 advancers on the Nikkei index against 162
decliners.
The volume of shares traded on the Tokyo Stock Exchange's
main board .TOPX was 0.4 billion, compared to the average of
1.12 billion in the past 30 days.