TOKYO, April 13 (Reuters) - Japan's Nikkei share average
slipped 1% on Monday as the collapse of U.S.-Iran peace talks
and reports of a U.S. Navy plan to block the Strait of Hormuz
cast fresh doubts on the durability of an ongoing ceasefire.
The Nikkei was down 1% at 56,357.40, as of midday
break, after posting its steepest weekly gain in more than a
year last week. The broader Topix slid 0.5% in choppy
trading to 3,721.78.
U.S. President Donald Trump said on Sunday the U.S. Navy
would start blocking the Strait of Hormuz, a choke point for 20%
of the world's daily energy supplies that Iran effectively
closed since the war started in late February. The announcement
drove oil prices to jump above $100 a barrel in early trade on
Monday.
"I don't think there are that many investors who expected
everything to be agreed (at the weekend talks) and for
everything to go smoothly," said Shuutaro Yasuda, market analyst
at Tokai Tokyo Intelligence Laboratory.
"That said, it's obviously not good news, so stocks are
falling. But I think the reason we're not seeing a really
extreme risk-off move is exactly that."
Across the Tokyo Stock Exchange's 33 industry sub-indexes,
energy exploration stocks stood out with a 3.2% gain.
In contrast, electric power and gas and air transport
each lost 1.8%.
Market breadth was negative, with 162 stocks falling versus
62 advancing in the Nikkei, led by losses in
semiconductor-related stocks.
Ibiden ( IBIDF ), a chip packaging and electronics firm,
recorded the steepest drop among blue chips, falling 4.3%. Tokyo
Electron, a major semiconductor equipment maker, also weighed
heavily in the index, declining 3.7%.
Still, solid corporate earnings helped limit the decline in
market sentiment, said Hiroshi Namioka, chief strategist and
fund manager at T&D Asset Management.
Yaskawa Electric ( YASKF ), an industrial robots and motion
control systems maker, was among the Nikkei's biggest percentage
gainers, up 5.7%. Ryohin Keikaku ( RYKKF ), operator of MUJI
brand, rose as much as 4.6% before paring gains to 1.3%.
"Although the overall market is paying attention to
earnings, when it comes to sector selection, there's no doubt
that the moves are being driven by expectations of crude oil
prices," Namioka said.