TOKYO, Jan 27 (Reuters) - Japanese shares tumbled on Monday,
with tourism-related stocks taking a fresh hit, on fears that a
virus outbreak originating from China could be more deadly and
harder to contain than initially thought.
As of 0155 GMT, the Nikkei share average .N225 was down
1.68% at 23,426.58, turning negative on the year, while the
broader Topix .TOPX lost 1.37% to 1,706.77.
China's cabinet said it would extend the week-long Lunar New
Year holiday by three days to Feb. 2 in a bid to contain the
spread of the disease as the death toll rose to 80. Popular places such as amusement parks and cinemas are
closing down in some places, while the city of Wuhan, the
epicentre of the outbreak, is under virtual lockdown with severe
restrictions on movement in several other cities.
"While we can't tell how much the disease will spread, one
thing we can say for sure now is that consumption in China is
already taking a hit as Beijing tries to contain the epidemic,"
said Hiroyuki Ueno, senior strategist at Sumitomo Mitsui Trust
Asset Management.
The Chinese government had announced prohibition of outbound
packaged tour travel for Chinese travellers, denting shares of
Japanese companies that have benefited from a rising influx of
Chinese tourists. Airline shares subindex .IAIRL.T fell 3.8% to their lowest
since May 2017.
Shares of Oriental Land 4661.T dropped 7%, following a
Nikkei report that the operator of Tokyo Disney Resort is likely
to post its first fall in profit in three years in the nine
months ended December.
Travel and leisure firm H.I.S. 9603.T fell 6%, while
Keisei Electric Railway 9090.T , which runs trains to Tokyo's
Narita Airport from the city centre, shed as much as 4.6%.
Cosmetic makers were also affected as their top-line has
been boosted by Chinese demand, with Shiseido 4911.T down 5.5%
and Kose 4922.T declining 5.9%.
On the other hand, protective outfit maker Azearth 3161.T
and Airtech Japan 6291.T , who manufacture various apparatus
for hospitals to prevent infections, rose by daily limit, rising
23.7% and 17.1% respectively.
Niitaka 4465.T , which makes disinfectors, also gained
21.6%.
Elsewhere, Net One System 2327.T , which has been reported
to have spearheaded fictitious transactions involving several
companies to pad profit, sank 22.2%.
The company said last week it will delay its quarterly
earnings by two weeks to Feb. 13 after having found suspicious
transactions.