Japanese shares slip back as investors look to U.S. stimulus debate

TOKYO, Dec 8 (Reuters) - Japanese shares dipped on Tuesday
as a month-old bull run ran out of gas, with investors looking
to see whether U.S. lawmakers can agree on a fresh pandemic
relief package soon.
The Nikkei share average .N225 lost 0.27% to 26,475.11,
touching its lowest level in 12 days. The broader Topix .TOPX
shed 0.03% to 1,760.12, having touched a low since Nov. 20.
The U.S. Congress will vote this week on a one-week stopgap
funding bill to provide more time for lawmakers to reach a deal
on COVID-19 relief and an overarching spending bill to avoid a
government shutdown. Japan will compile a fresh 73.6 trillion yen ($708 billion)
economic stimulus package to speed up the country's recovery
from its deep coronavirus slump, Prime Minister Yoshihide Suga
said. Sentiment remained upbeat as investors expect the global
economic recovery to continue, with COVID-19 vaccines look set
to be rolled out soon and stimulate consumption worldwide.
"The global manufacturing cycle is about to enter an
expansion phase from contraction. For value shares including a
lot of Japanese shares, that is the phase when they historically
performed the best," said Shusuke Yamada, chief Japan FX and
equity strategist at Bank of America.
Hydrogen product maker Iwatani 8088.T jumped 10.1% after
the Nikkei business daily reported that the Japanese government
was likely to set a target to expand the use of hydrogen to 10
million tonne by 2030 to meet its emission goal.
Sekisui House 1928.T rose 4.8% after the housing maker's
earnings came in better than expected.
Many tech-related shares gained, with Keyence 6861.T
rising 1.3% while Nintendo 7974.T gained 1% and Murata
Manufacturing 6981.T went up 0.9%.
On the other hand, drugmakers underperformed with Daiichi
Sankyo 4568.T losing 2.8% and Astellas Pharma 4503.T falling
1.9%.
The index of Mothers start-up market .MTHR briefly fell
below its 100-day moving average for the first time since late
April but managed to bounce back to end 0.47% higher at midday.