By Stanley White
TOKYO, Nov 20 (Reuters) - Japanese shares fell on Wednesday
on worries over the progress of trade talks between Washington
and Beijing, with the information technology sector recording
the biggest decline led by falls in semiconductor companies.
U.S. President Donald Trump threatened an escalation in the
trade war on Tuesday when he said he would raise tariffs on
Chinese imports if no deal was reached with Beijing.
The Nikkei index .N225 closed down 0.62% at 23,148.57.
Trump's comments, which he made at a cabinet meeting at the
White House, further dented hopes for a resolution to a 16-month
long trade war that has curbed global trade. The United States and China have exchanged tit-for-tat
tariffs that have roiled financial markets and threatened to
drag growth in the global economy to its lowest rate since the
2007-2008 financial crisis.
Sticking points include how and when to reduce tariffs and
how much U.S. agricultural products China would commit to buy.
"There is a lot of uncertainty about the U.S.-China trade
war, including Trump's comments," said Kiyoshi Ishigane, chief
fund manager at Mitsubishi UFJ Kokusai Asset Management Co.
"It would certainly benefit both sides to have a trade deal,
so I think they will eventually agree to something. But for the
time being, it's a good opportunity for some overseas investors
to sell stocks and book some profits."
Some traders are also worried about a further deterioration
in U.S.-China relations after the U.S. Senate, in a unanimous
vote, passed legislation on Tuesday to protect human rights in
Hong Kong, which has been rocked by violent protest against
Chinese rule of the former British colony. China's foreign ministry said it strongly condemned the
measure.
The IT sector was the biggest decliner, led by Advantest
Corp 6857.T , down 2.7%, and a 1.57% decline in shares of Tokyo
Electron Ltd 8035.T .
Major exporters Honda Motor Co Ltd 7267.T fell 1.34% and
Toyota Motor Corp 7203.T dropped 0.85%.
There were 89 advancers on the Nikkei index against 128
decliners on Wednesday.
The largest percentage losses in the index were cargo
shipping firm Nippon Yusen KK 9101.T down 4.18%, followed by
life insurer T&D Holdings Inc 8795.T losing 4.02% and oil
refining equipment maker JGC Holdings Corp 1963.T down by
3.71%.
The largest percentage gainers in the index were Sumitomo
Dainippon Pharma Co Ltd 4506.T up 6.95%, followed by online
commerce company Rakuten Inc 4755.T gaining 2.62% and
healthcare company M3 Inc 2413.T up by 2.48%.
The Topix index .TOPX fell 0.33% to 1,691.11, its biggest
decline since Nov. 14.
The volume of shares traded on the Tokyo Stock Exchange's
main board .TOPX was 1.35 billion, compared with the average
of 1.25 billion yen in the past 30 days.
(Editing by Sam Holmes and Jacqueline Wong)