TOKYO: Japanese shares were little changed on Wednesday after recent gains, with traders looking for cues after the corporate earnings season.
Mizuho surged 4.3%, leading banks higher after announcing a plan to shed cross-shareholdings, while Tokio Marine Holdings sank 2.7% and triggered a decline in insurance companies after forecasting a 12% drop in annual profit.
The benchmark Nikkei has climbed 4.9% since US President Donald Trump announced sweeping tariffs on April 2, only to pause most of them as he sought bilateral trade deals.
“Stocks have been on a rise, but now that earnings have come to an end, I think there’s a slight lack of catalysts in the market,” said Wataru Akiyama, a strategist at Nomura Securities.
“We may be seeing an adjustment in the stock market after the recent rally has led to short-term overheating.”
Japan’s export-reliant economy and equity market are still vulnerable to how trade talks with the US pan out.
The nation’s lead trade negotiator, Ryosei Akazawa, will head to the US on Friday for a third round of talks, the Nikkei newspaper reported.
Data on Wednesday showed Japanese exports rose for the seventh straight month in April but shipments to the US fell, highlighting the toll of Trump’s tariffs.
Japan’s Nikkei rises on resilient Wall Street, pause in yen rally
The Nikkei slid 0.1% as of the midday break on Wednesday, while the broader Topix was up 0.19%.
There were 155 advancers against 69 decliners on the Nikkei, which is still down almost 6% this year.
Volumes were low on the Tokyo Stock Exchange’s main board, with just 0.88 billion shares trading hands compared to the 30-day average of 2.16 billion.
Toyota Motor gained 0.4% after the automaker unveiled its redesigned RAV4 sport utility vehicle, due to launch in North America, Japan, and Europe in the current business year.
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