Tokyo shares fell Monday as technology shares took a hit following similar declines on Wall Street, but news of a panda's birth at a Tokyo zoo sent shares in a nearby restaurant skyrocketing. Market heavyweight SoftBank, which closed at a 17-year high on Friday, fell 2.61 percent to 9,228 yen, while chip-making devices maker Tokyo Electron dropped 3.01 percent to 16,395 yen.
"There's a chance US internet technology stocks that have propelled a global stock rally will now serve as a buzzkill," said Mitsuo Shimizu, deputy general manager at Japan Asia Securities. "Because anticipation over Apple's new iPhone had boosted related chip and electronics company shares, it'll likely be a minus for these stocks too," he told Bloomberg News.
The benchmark Nikkei 225 slipped 0.52 percent, or 104.68 points, to 19,908.58. The Topix index of all first-section issues was flat, edging down 0.01 percent, or 0.11 points, to 1,591.55. On Wall Street the blue-chip Dow climbed to a new record Friday but the Nasdaq fell nearly two percent after tech giants such as Apple, Amazon and Google Parent Alphabet all lost at least three percent.
Analysts described the market movements as a rotation in which investors were taking profits from highly valued sectors and putting the funds in areas that have underperformed - such as financials, energy and retailers. In other Tokyo trading Apple supplier Murata Manufacturing fell 2.56 percent to 15,595 yen and display maker Sharp sank 3.22 percent to 390 yen.
Toshiba jumped 9.40 percent to 329.1 yen after news reports said US-based Western Digital was raising its bid to purchase the struggling Japanese group's prized semiconductor business. Chinese restaurant chain Totenko soared 38 percent at one point after Tokyo's Ueno zoo said its giant panda gave birth for the first time in five years. It closed at 224 yen, up 6.66 percent.
Totenko's main outlet is near the zoo, with a rare baby panda expected to boost the number of visitors to the area. Fujifilm rose 1.61 percent to 4,028 yen as it said a probe into accounting irregularities at two foreign sales units showed they had only a "minor" impact on its bottom line. Bank shares fell, with Mitsubishi UFJ Financial down 0.19 percent at 733.3 yen and Sumitomo Mitsui falling 0.25 percent to 4,256 yen. In currency markets, the dollar was changing hands at 110.24 yen against 110.26 yen in US trade.
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