Japanese shares snapped a six-day winning streak on Wednesday, pressured by declines on Wall Street with Apple Inc -related stocks stumbling after the tech giant's revenue forecast missed market expectations. The Nikkei share average dropped 1.0 percent to 20,627.93 in midmorning trade after ending at a near four-week closing high on the previous day. In the past six days, the Nikkei had gained 5.0 percent.
US stocks fell as results from IBM and United Technologies dampened early optimism over the earnings season. After the bell, Apple forecast fourth-quarter revenue below estimates, sending its shares down 8 percent in after-hours trading, despite reporting strong iPhone sales. A fall in Apple shares soured sentiment in Apple-related stocks in Japan, with Murata Manufacturing Co tumbling 6.4 percent, Foster Electric Co falling 2.5 percent, and TDK Corp dropping 3.0 percent.
"Since the market had been rising, such bad news can take a toll," said Hikaru Sato, a senior technical analyst at Daiwa Securities. "But the impact from Apple's weak forecast should not drag on." Chip-related stocks were sold off after semiconductor market research company SEMI said that the book-to-bill ratio for June was 0.98, meaning $98 worth of orders were received for every $100 of product billed for the month.
Advantest Corp dropped 2.5 percent and Tokyo Electron Ltd shed 1.6 percent. Bucking the weakness, Pigeon Corp rose 1.6 percent after Daiwa Securities raised its rating to 'outperform' from 'neutral', citing ongoing strength in baby-bottle sales in its main overseas market China. The broader Topix dropped 1.0 percent to 1,657.99, and the JPX-Nikkei Index 400 declined 1.0 percent to 14,965.79.