TOKYO, Oct 7 (Reuters) - Japanese shares slipped on Monday,
pressured by concerns Sino-U.S. trade talks may face new hurdles
this week although moderate U.S. jobs growth in September
offered some support.
The benchmark Nikkei average .N225 dropped 0.3% to
21,346.63 by the midday break, while the broader Topix .TOPX
eased 0.2% to 1,569.98.
U.S.-China trade talks are scheduled to resume Thursday and
Friday, when Chinese Vice Premier Liu He meets U.S. Trade
Representative Robert Lighthizer and Treasury Secretary Steven
Mnuchin in Washington.
Hours before the Tokyo market open, Bloomberg reported that
Chinese officials were signalling they were increasingly
reluctant to agree to a broad trade deal pursued by U.S.
President Donald Trump. Apple-related Japanese electronic parts makers continued to
be sought boosted by expectations of strong demand for the
iPhone.
The Nikkei business daily reported that Apple Inc AAPL.O
had told suppliers to increase their production of its latest
iPhone 11 range by up to 10%, citing sources. Murata Manufacturing 6981.T climbed 1.7% to become the
second-most traded stock on the main board by turnover, while
TDK Corp 6762.T gained 0.8% and Taiyo Yuden 6976.T advanced
0.7%.
Wall Street stocks surged on Friday after moderate U.S. jobs
growth in September offered some relief from a spate of dismal
economic data that week, with technology stocks led by Apple
lifting the benchmark indexes. Rubber products .IRUBR.T and mining .IMING.T were among
the worst performers in the Tokyo bourse's 33 sector subindexes,
down 1.6% and 1.4%, respectively.