SYDNEY, Oct 17 (Reuters) - Japanese shares took a breather
on Thursday, a day after rallying to more than 10-month highs,
as investors waited for signs of progress on U.S.-China trade
and Brexit negotiations.
The benchmark Nikkei average .N225 edged 0.1% higher to
22,503.97 by the midday break, holding within a tight range near
its 10-month peak hit on Wednesday.
The broader Topix .TOPX eased 0.2% to 1,628.16, not far
from its highest since early December marked the previous day.
On Wednesday, Wall Street stocks lost ground after soft U.S.
retail data, in a potential sign that manufacturing-led weakness
could be spreading to the broader economy. A solid start to the
earnings season helped counter losses, but that was partly
because markets had already marked down expectations. N/C
As Britain and the European Union scrambled to secure a
last-minute Brexit deal, investors digested mixed headlines on
the likelihood of progress at a EU leaders summit in Brussels
later on Thursday. Japanese chip-related stocks fell, taking their cue from
Wall Street peers as well as Dutch ASML ASML.AS , which dropped
4.5% as investors locked in profits after the semiconductor
equipment maker announced better-than-expected results on
Wednesday. Tokyo Electron 8035.T dropped 0.6% and Screen Holdings
7735.T slid 1.5%.
Subaru 7270.T fell 0.2% after the carmaker said it would
suspend production at its Gunma factory until Oct. 24 due to
supply disruptions caused by Typhoon Hagibis. Elsewhere, commodity-related sectors fared worse. The
non-ferrous metal and the iron and steel were among the worst
performers in the Tokyo bourse's 33 subsector indexes, down 1.0%
and 0.8%, respectively.