SYDNEY, May 29 (Reuters) - Japanese stocks retreated from
three-month highs on Friday as escalating U.S.-China tensions
over Hong Kong prompted investors to lock in profits, but easing
coronavirus restrictions helped Nikkei mark its best month in
more than four-and-a-half years.
The benchmark Nikkei average .N225 fell 0.18% to
21,877.89, but the index gained 8.3% for May, its biggest
monthly gain since October 2015, thanks to optimism around
economies worldwide reopening from lockdowns.
The broader Topix .TOPX dropped 0.9% to 1,563.67, also off
its three-month high touched on Thursday, with all but five of
the 33 sector sub-indexes on the Tokyo exchange finishing lower.
Turnover shot up to 4.64 trillion yen, the third highest
this year, though the amount was boosted by rebalancing flows
related to re-shuffling in MSCI indexes.
China's passage of a national security law for Hong Kong
dampened risk sentiment, with U.S. President Donald Trump
scheduled to hold a news conference on China on Friday as his
administration moves to pressure Beijing over its treatment of
Hong Kong. Highly cyclical steelmakers .ISTEL.T , shippers .ISHIP.T
and automakers .ITEQP.T were among the three worst-performing
sectors on the main bourse, reversing their sharp gains from
earlier this week.
Nissan Motor Co Ltd 7201.T slumped 10.8% after it posted
an annual operating loss of 40.5 billion yen ($377 million) for
the business year ended in March, its worst performance since
2008/09. Nikon Corp 7731.T slumped 9.1% after reporting a massive
91.8% fall in its operating profit for the financial year ended
March 31. Bucking the overall trend, the index of Mothers start-up
shares .MTHR advanced 3.6% to a high last seen in December
2018.
($1 = 107.42 yen)