TOKYO, July 14 (Reuters) - Japan's benchmark Nikkei fell on
Tuesday as investors booked profits after a sharp gain in the
previous session, while semiconductor stocks and other high-tech
firms took a hit from a weak Nasdaq performance overnight.
The benchmark Nikkei share average .N225 fell 0.84% to
22,593.27 during the midday break, after hitting a one-month
high in the previous session. There were 96 advancers against
125 decliners on the index.
In the broader market, Topix .TOPX lost 0.48% to 1,565.49
by the recess, with all but eight of the 33 industry subindexes
in the Tokyo Stock Exchange trading in the red.
Fish and forest .IFISH.T , mining .IMING.T and services
.ISVCS.T were the three worst-performing sector subindexes on
the main bourse.
Semiconductor shares were bruised by a 2.13% drop on the
Nasdaq Composite index .IXIC , which was pulled down by Amazon,
Microsoft and other big-name leaders of Wall Street's recent
rally as fresh coronavirus restrictions in California and
mounting U.S.-China tensions triggered a selloff. .N
Advantest Corp 6857.T slipped 2.72%, while Screen Holdings
Co Ltd 7735.T and Tokyo Electron Ltd 8035.T fell 2.22% and
1.71%, respectively.
Other high-tech shares also underperformed, with Fujitsu Ltd
6702.T falling 1.02% and Fanuc Ltd 6954.T inching down
0.29%.
Sony Corp 6758.T dropped 1.89%, after reaching its highest
level since 2001 in the previous session.
Elsewhere, Nikkei heavyweight SoftBank Group Corp 9984.T
fell 2.11% after a Wall Street report said the tech conglomerate
is exploring options including a full or partial sale or public
offering of British chip designer Arm Holdings.