INSUBCONTINENT EXCLUSIVE:
TOKYO: Japan's Nikkei fell to a one-month low on Friday as semiconductor-related shares tumbled after Morgan Stanley downgraded its view
on the United States chip sector, which offset any boost from Japan's better-than-expected economic growth.
The Nikkei share average
ended 1.3 per cent lower at 22,298.08, the lowest closing level since July 12
For the week, it dropped 1 per cent.
In late trade, selling in stocks accelerated after the yen rose against the dollar as investors became
risk averse.
The Turkish lira hit an all-time low of 5.75 on Friday after a meeting the day before between a Turkish delegation and United
States officials in Washington yielded no apparent solution to a diplomatic rift over the detention in Turkey of a United States
pastor.
The dollar dipped 0.1 per cent to 110.98 yen, nudged off a session-high of 111.165.
Chip equipment makers Tokyo Electron dropped 3.6
per cent, Advantest Corp fell 4.9 per cent and Screen Holdings shed 3.9 per cent, while silicon-wafer maker Sumco Corp tumbled 4.7 per
cent.
Morgan Stanley cut its outlook for the United States semiconductor industry to "cautious" from "in-line," saying it could not see
much upside to its estimates partly due to increasing trade tensions.
Investors are keeping an eye on Japan's trade talks in Washington
Both Japan and the United States failed to reach an agreement in talks on Thursday between United States Trade Representative Robert
Lighthizer and Japanese Economy Minister Toshimitsu Motegi, who stuck to Tokyo's position that it preferred multilateral free-trade
agreements over bilateral ones.
"What is crucial for Japan is whether there will be an impact to its auto sector
Right now it's hard to make an investment decision so we need to wait till next week to digest the outcome of the talks," said Norihiro
Fujito, chief investment strategist at Mitsubishi UFJ Morgan Stanley Securities.
Apart from chip-related stocks, Friday's losers included
insurance shares and shippers
Dai-ichi Life Holdings shed 3.3 per cent and Mitsui OSK Lines fell 2.1 per cent.
Meanwhile, Fujifilm Holdings soared 3.5 per cent after the
company said it would buy back up to 100 billion yen of its own stock.
On Friday, data showed Japan's economy bounced in the second
quarter from a contraction in the previous quarter, in a sign its recovery momentum remained intact.
The preliminary reading for
second-quarter gross domestic product compared with a median estimate for a 1.4 per cent in a Reuters poll of economists.
The broader Topix
dropped 1.2 per cent to 1,720.16.
