Nikkei falls most in 3 wks; oil and Astellas weigh
* Resource shares slide after oil's fall
* Eyes on earnings, Honda lifts guidance
* Canon posts 54 percent drop in quarterly profit
* 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, 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 haven't 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.
Honda, which announced earnings after the bell, nearly tripled its annual profit forecasts as second-quarter earnings fell less than forecast, thanks to government stimulus schemes around the world that boosted sales. [ID:nT324227] Continued...
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