TOKYO (dpa-AFX) - The Japanese stock market is declining on Monday despite the positive cues from Wall Street Friday, as investors turned cautious ahead of earnings results from major Japanese companies. Investors also look ahead to a new round of U.S.-China trade talks set to begin later this week.
The benchmark Nikkei 225 Index is losing 106.03 points or 0.51 percent to 20,667.53, after touching a low of 20,651.36 earlier. Japanese shares a hit five-week high on Friday.
The major exporters are higher despite a stronger yen. Mitsubishi Electric is adding more than 1 percent, Panasonic is advancing almost 1 percent, Sony is rising 0.4 percent and Canon is up 0.2 percent.
Auto electronics maker Pioneer Corp.'s shareholders have approved capital injection of about 102 billion yen from Hong Kong-based private equity fund Baring Private Equity Asia, with the struggling company likely to be fully owned by Baring as early as March. Shares of Pioneer are losing more than 1 percent.
In the tech sector, Advantest is down 0.3 percent, while Tokyo Electron is edging up 0.1 percent. Among the major automakers, Honda is down 0.2 percent and Toyota is lower by 0.3 percent.
In the banking sector, Mitsubishi UFJ Financial is losing almost 1 percent, while Sumitomo Mitsui Financial is higher by 0.3 percent.
In the oil space, Japan Petroleum is down 0.5 percent, while Inpex is adding more than 1 percent after crude oil prices advanced 1 percent on Friday.
Asahi Group Holdings has agreed to acquire UK-based Fuller, Smith & Turner's brewing business for $330 million despite worries about Brexit. However, the company's shares are losing almost 2 percent.
Among the worst performers, Suzuki Motor and Toyo Seikan Group are losing almost 3 percent each, while Keio Corp., Kikkoman Corp., Osaka Gas, Sapporo Holdings and Otsuka Holdings are all lower by more than 2 percent each.
In the currency market, the U.S. dollar is trading in the lower 109 yen-range on Monday.
On Wall Street, stocks closed higher on Friday after U.S. Treasury Secretary Steven Mnuchin reportedly said the U.S. and China are making 'a lot of progress' in trade talks. Stocks remained firmly positive as President Donald Trump announced an agreement to end the record-setting government shutdown.
The Dow climbed 183.96 points or 0.8 percent to 24,737.20, the Nasdaq jumped 91.40 points or 1.3 percent to 7,164.86 and the S&P 500 advanced 22.43 points or 0.9 percent to 2,664.76.
European stocks also moved mostly higher on Friday, although the U.K.'s FTSE 100 Index bucked the uptrend and edged down by 0.1 percent. The French CAC 40 Index and the German DAX Index shot up by 1.1 percent and 1.4 percent, respectively.
Crude oil prices rose on Friday, with traders weighing reports about likely U.S. sanctions on Venezuela's crude exports against data showing an increase in U.S. crude stockpiles and an increase in oil rigs count this week. WTI crude for March ended up $0.56 or 1.1 percent at $53.69 a barrel on the New York Mercantile Exchange.
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