REFILE-Japanese shares end higher as Apple regains some lost ground

(Refiles to correct day of week in first paragraph)
By Hideyuki Sano
TOKYO, Feb 19 (Reuters) - Japanese shares bounced back on
Wednesday as sentiment improved slightly after Wall Street's
major indexes closed off their lows and Apple trimmed its losses
stemming from a sales warning, although the health crisis in
China remained an overhang.
Investors are cautious as the coronavirus epidemic could tip
the Japanese economy, already hit by sales tax hike last
October, into a recession.
The Nikkei share average .N225 closed 0.89% higher at
23,400.70, while the broader Topix .TOPX recovered from the
four-month closing low it hit on Tuesday to end up 0.37% at
1,671.86.
"... There was short-covering in the shares that had been
sold, absolutely no indication (that) investors are building
fresh long position in cash equities," said Masato Kogure, group
leader of execution at Tokai Tokyo Securities.
Semi-conductor shares and electronic parts makers, which led
the slump on Monday following the warning from Apple AAPL.O ,
clawed back some losses.
Apple supplier Murata manufacturing 6981.T rose 2.8% to
become the top performer on the Topix core 30 .TOPXC , while
Shin-etsu Chemical 4063.T gained 1.4%.
Sumco 3436.T , which announced a share buyback, rose 4.1%,
while Advantest 6857.T too climbed 4.1%.
Value shares, such as banks, steelmakers and constructors,
ended lower.
Topix value index .TOPXV dipped 0.05%, compared with a
0.79% rise in Topix growth .TOPXG .
That pushed the growth-heavy Nikkei to the highest level
relative to the broader Topix on record.
The NT ratio .NTIDX rose to 14, the highest level since a
big reshuffling in the Nikkei in 2000.
Among banks, Sumitomo Mitsui Financial Group 8316.T
dropped 1.2%, while Mitsubishi UFJ Financial Group 8306.T fell
0.9%, hurt by a fall in global bond yields amid worries about
the virus.
Nippon Steel 5401.T , Japan's top steelmaker, dropped 3.6%
to 16-1/2-year low.
Elsewhere, Ministop 9946.T fell 3.6% after the convenience
store operator downgraded its earnings outlook sharply, saying
it expects an operating loss instead of its previous outlook of
a profit.