Japanese shares down by noon amid political woes

TOKYO: Japanese shares lost 0.32 percent Friday morning as the nation's ongoing political concerns undermined the Tokyo market, brokers said.

They also said cautious trading was likely to continue in the afternoon session ahead of the release of US payroll figures later in the day.

The benchmark Nikkei index fell 30.87 points to 9,524.17 by noon. The Topix of all issues on the first section of the Tokyo Stock Exchange declined 0.54 percent or 4.45 points to 821.31 points.

"Utilities and banks are being sold today amid the ongoing political uncertainty," said Toshiyuki Kanayama, market analyst at Monex Inc.

Kan survived the no-confidence vote after pledging to step down once the country is on the road to recovery from the March 11 quake disaster and the nuclear crisis it triggered.

When asked at a late-night press conference to specify when he would step down, Kan remained vague, pointing to the need to stabilise the crippled Fukushima Daiichi nuclear plant.

Following the conference, some lawmakers with the ruling Democratic Party of Japan (DPJ) renewed their calls for Kan's early resignation.

"The DPJ wouldn't be able to carry out decent national policy" with its membership split, said Tsuyoshi Segawa, equity strategist at Mizuho Securities.

"The market reaction to Thursday's failed no-confidence vote is neutral, as we're back to where we started before the vote, with Kan's resignation date yet to be determined," said Kazuhiro Takahashi, general manager of investment strategy and research at Daiwa Securities.

Tokyo Electric Power, the owner of the crippled Fukushima Daiichi nuclear plant, was off 3.27 percent, and Chubu Electric Power fell 0.23 percent.

In the banking sector, Mizuho Financial lost 0.80 percent and Mitsubishi Tokyo Financial was off 1.07 percent.

Copyright AFP (Agence France-Presse), 2011