TOKYO: Japan’s Nikkei share average fell for a fourth session on Wednesday as investors remained cautious ahead of central bank decisions in the US and Japan, while report of a Honda-Nissan tie-up boosted auto shares.
The Nikkei ended 0.72% lower at 39,081.71.
The broader Topix erased early gains to fall 0.31% to 2,719.87, even as the auto sector rose 1.5% on expectations for an industry reorganization.
Honda Motor and Nissan Motor are in talks to deepen ties, two people said, including a possible merger, the clearest sign yet of how Japan’s once seemingly unbeatable auto industry is being reshaped by challenges from Tesla and Chinese rivals.
“The report raised expectations that Japan’s automakers will start a consolidation and investors were prompted to buy auto shares,” said Fumio Matsumoto, chief strategist at Okasan Securities.
“The market did not expect the closer tie-up between Nissan and Honda would take place this early. Now, investors expect less competitive automakers, such as Mazda, may be a target of an acquisition.”
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