Tokyo shares edge lower after long holiday; airlines top losers

SYDNEY, May 7 (Reuters) - Japanese stock markets eased on
their return from a long holiday on Thursday, with airlines
leading the fall on Tokyo's main bourse, as investors fretted
over dire U.S. economic data and souring Sino-U.S. relations
over the coronavirus.
The benchmark Nikkei average .N225 slipped 0.16% to
19,587.42 by the midday break, while the broader Topix .TOPX
dipped 0.45% to 1,424.83.
Nearly two-thirds of the 33 sector sub-indexes on the Tokyo
exchange traded lower, with air transport .IAIR.T shedding
6.1% to become the worst performer on the main board. Japan
Airlines 9201.T dropped 6.3%, while rival ANA Holdings
9202.T lost 6%.
The sell-off came after U.S. peers plunged earlier this week
on news that American business tycoon and investor Warren
Buffett had sold his entire airline positions. Berkshire Hathaway Inc BRKa.N sold its entire stakes in
the four largest U.S. airlines in April, Chairman Buffett said
on Saturday at the company's annual meeting, saying "the world
has changed" for the aviation industry. Also weighing on sentiment were poor ADP private payroll
data from the United States and the renewed tension between the
world's two largest economies. U.S. President Donald Trump's administration is weighing
punitive actions against China over its early handling of the
novel coronavirus outbreak as economic damage mounts.
Nikkei heavyweight SoftBank Group Corp 9984.T fell 3.2%
after WeWork co-founder Adam Neumann filed a lawsuit against the
Japanese tech conglomerate and its Vision Fund for terminating a
$3 billion tender offer to the office-sharing startup's
shareholders. Canon Inc 7751.T declined 2.7% after the company said
President Masaya Maeda had retired for health reasons and
Chairman Fujio Mitarai would concurrently serve as president and
chief operation officer. Bucking the overall market, the index of Mothers start-up
shares .MTHR jumped 5.8% to its highest level since Feb. 20.
Elsewhere, Nomura Real Estate Holdings 3231.T soared 8.2%
after the company posted a 6.6% increase in net profit for the
business year ended in March. "I expect this two-day week to be rather quiet ahead of the
U.S. non-farm payrolls release (due on Friday) and a huge
earnings week next week," said Takeo Kamai, head of executions
services at CLSA in Tokyo.