By Kevin Buckland
TOKYO, Feb 9 (Reuters) - Japan's Nikkei share average
extended losses on Thursday, continuing its retreat from a
nearly two-month high, as it tracked downbeat performances on
Wall Street after investors positioned for a protracted period
of high U.S. interest rates.
The earnings season witnessed a mix of big winners and
losers. Shares of materials maker Teijin and Pacific
Metals posted gains of about 6% each following upbeat
quarterly earnings, while Fujifilm sagged 2.6%.
The Nikkei ended the morning session down 0.5% at
27,479.86, but hovered around the 27,500 level it had scaled
late-January. At the start of the week, the index hit its
highest since mid-December at 27,821.22 amid strong earnings
results.
The broader Topix slipped 0.2% to 1,980.07.
All three big U.S. stock indexes dropped overnight, led by
the tech-heavy Nasdaq, as a chorus of Fed speakers backed the
idea of more hikes and high rates for longer.
The Philadelphia SE Semiconductor Index dropped 2.2%.
The drop hurt Japanese chip-related stocks as well, with
chip-making equipment manufacturer Tokyo Electron slumping 2.3% and shaving 37 points off the Nikkei, making it
the biggest drag. Chip-testing equipment maker Advantest was next, subtracting 14 index points with a 2% slide.
"The market is shifting to the view that there won't be any
monetary loosening by the Fed this year, and some people who had
been thinking the peak in rates would come in March now think
there's probably going to be another hike after that," Kazuo
Kamitani, a strategist at Nomura in Tokyo, said in a call with
journalists.
U.S. consumer price data on Tuesday will provide a crucial
clue to Fed policy direction, he said, and until then both U.S.
and Japanese stock markets are likely to be broadly
directionless.
Of the Nikkei's 225 components, 76 rose versus 138 that
fell, with 11 flat.
Basic materials sub-index was the best performing sector,
rising 0.8%, followed by a 0.5% gain for energy. Utilities were
the laggards with a 1% drop, while tech shares lost 0.7%.
(Reporting by Kevin Buckland; Editing by Sherry Jacob-Phillips)
Disclaimer: The views expressed in this article are those of the author and may not reflect those of Kitco Metals Inc. The author has made every effort to ensure accuracy of information provided; however, neither Kitco Metals Inc. nor the author can guarantee such accuracy. This article is strictly for informational purposes only. It is not a solicitation to make any exchange in commodities, securities or other financial instruments. Kitco Metals Inc. and the author of this article do not accept culpability for losses and/ or damages arising from the use of this publication.