TOKYO, March 19 (Reuters) - Japanese equities dropped on
Friday as heavyweight technology stocks tracked steep overnight
declines in U.S. peers after Treasury yields rose, but strong
cyclical shares capped falls.
The Nikkei share average .N225 fell 0.79% to 29,979.35 by
0140 GMT, while the broader Topix .TOPX slipped 0.3% to
2002.52, ending an eight-day winning streak.
"Right now, the Japanese market could go any direction
depending on the move of bond yields in the United States," said
Norihiro Fujito, chief investment strategist at Mitsubishi UFJ
Morgan Stanley Securities.
"It could take a long time for the U.S. bond market to be
stabilized as we can expect more economic indicators that would
signal a strong recovery."
Wall Street ended sharply lower on Thursday with the
tech-focused Nasdaq tumbling 3%, hit by rising U.S. Treasury
yields and fresh worries about the COVID-19 pandemic in Europe.
.N
The yield on the benchmark 10-year Treasuries US10YT=RR
crossed 1.75% to hit a 14-month high a day after the Fed
projected the strongest growth in nearly 40 years. In Japan, blue-chip technology shares fell, with SoftBank
Group 9984.T dropping 2.1%, Tokyo Electron 8035.T losing
2.57%, Advantest 6857.T falling 2.04% and Fanuc 6954.T
slipping 1.45%.
Sea transport and airline sectors advanced. Nippon Yusen
9101.T jumped 2.54%, Mitsui OSK Lines 9104.T rose 2.14% and
Kawasaki Kisen 9107.T gained 1.29%.
ANA Holdings 9202.T rose 1.52% and Japan Airlines 9201.T
gained 0.59%.
Japan's top three banks gained amid the rising interest
rates, with Mizuho Financial 8411.T adding 1.69%, Sumitomo
Mitsui Financial 8316.T jumping 1.76% and Mitsubishi UFJ
Financial 8306.T gaining 0.76%.
The stocks that gained the most among the top 30 core Topix
names were Honda Motor 7267.T , up 1.96%, followed by Mizuho
Financial.
Nintendo Co 7974.T , down 2.40%, and SoftBank Group were
the worst performers among the top 30 core Topix 30 names.
There were 108 advancers on the Nikkei index against 113
decliners.