TOKYO, Oct 27 (Reuters) - Japanese shares pared early losses
on Tuesday as strong earnings from camera and copy machine maker
Canon helped counter weakness in travel and real estate stocks
following a lower finish on Wall Street.
After dropping as much as 1.1% in early trade, the Nikkei
share average .N225 was down 0.28% at 23,428.70 by the midday
break while the broader Topix .TOPX lost 0.41% to 1,612.35.
The market got support from upbeat earnings reports, with
Canon 7751.T jumping 6.5% after raising its annual earnings
outlook and legal portal service operator Bengo4.com 6027.T
reversing course to rise 6.5% on upbeat quarterly results.
Overall sentiment, however, was weaker after worries about
rising coronavirus cases hit Wall Street overnight.
The airline index .IAIRL.T dropped 3.4% as investors
focused on the kind of support airlines could get to survive the
COVID-19 pandemic.
Japan Airline 9201.T lost 3.2% as the Nikkei business
daily reported it was likely to post a record net loss of about
230 billion yen ($2.20 billion) for the fiscal year ending March
2021. The company is also reportedly seeking 300 billion yen in
funding.
Smaller peer Star Flyer 9206.T lost as much as 7.0% after
a report that it may sell new shares to a fund. Railway operators also struggled, with West Japan Railway
9021.T and Central Japan Railway 9022.T falling 3.2% and
3.1%, respectively.
Real estate companies Mitsubishi Fudosan 8801.T and
Sumitomo Realty 8830.T fell 3.5% and 2.0%, respectively.
The REIT (real estate investment trust) index fell to a
three-month low before some bargain-hunting helped it erase
losses to rise 0.6%.
Shares of Nidec 6594.T , which have doubled from a low hit
in March, dropped 1.8% even as the motor maker lifted its annual
earnings estimate.
Nitto Denko 6988.T also dipped 0.1% after solid earnings.