Nikkei falls most in 3 wks; oil and Astellas weigh

Tue Oct 27, 2009 6:31am GMT
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* Resource shares slide after oil's fall

* Eyes on earnings, Honda and Canon in spotlight

* Economic uncertainty remains despite good earnings-analysts

By Elaine Lies

TOKYO, Oct 27 (Reuters) - Japan's Nikkei average lost 1.5 percent on Tuesday, its biggest one-day percentage fall in three weeks, as trading houses fell after oil slid and Astellas Pharma (4503.T: Quote, Profile, Research) was hurt by a brokerage downgrade. Blue-chip exporters such as Honda Motor Co (7267.T: Quote, Profile, Research) also dragged on the market after U.S. stocks fell on chances that lawmakers may let a federal home buyer tax credit expire, raising fears the U.S. housing industry may lose a crucial incentive that has spurred hopes of stabilisation in recent months. [.N]

Both Chuo Mitsui Trust (8309.T: Quote, Profile, Research) and rival Sumitomo Trust (8403.T: Quote, Profile, Research) climbed after the Nikkei business daily said the two planned to merge in early 2011. Trading in their shares was subsequently suspended by the Tokyo Stock Exchange. [ID:nTFA006475]

As Japan's earnings season moves into high gear, with both Honda and Canon Inc (7751.T: Quote, Profile, Research) reporting after the bell, analysts said that while generally solid results were supporting the market concerns about the global economy lingered. "Even though the actual earnings we've seen have not been too bad, there's a lot of uncertainty about the second half of the year, with pretty conservative forecasts," said Hiroaki Osakabe, a fund manager at Chibagin Asset Management. "In addition, I think there's a worry that economic growth may be slowing a bit in the shorter term, leading to selling." The benchmark Nikkei .N225 lost 150.16 points to 10,212.46 and marked its biggest one-day percentage drop since Oct. 2. The broader Topix .TOPX lost 1.7 percent to 895.48.

U.S. stocks fell for a second straight session on Monday as investors sold shares in home builders and financials, while commodity shares succumbed to pressure from a higher dollar.

"There's a bit of worry that global shares may be headed for a simultaneous correction, given that they've all been rising together for a while," said Takashi Ushio, head of the investment strategy division at Marusan Securities.  Continued...

 
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