Japanese shares slid the most in two months on Monday as concerns mounted over the U.S. economy and trade, while speculation grew over a potential upheaval in domestic politics.
“It is just the declines of heavyweight stocks that are dragging the index today,” said Fujiwara.
Tokyo Electron slumped 3.8% to weigh the most on the Nikkei. Mizuho Securities analysts downgraded the rating of the chip-making equipment maker to “Neutral” from “Buy”.
Mitsui Fudosan leapt 5.9% after the property developer’s quarterly net profit nearly doubled from a year ago.
Mitsubishi Heavy Industries rose 4.8%, jumping for a second session, after the heavy machinery maker clinched a landmark deal to build Australia’s next-generation warships. Of more than 1,600 stocks trading on the Tokyo Stock Exchange’s (TSE) prime market, 79% rose, 18% fell and 3% traded flat. All but one of the TSE’s 33 industry sub-indexes rose, with the property sector climbing 2.8% to be the top performer.
The services sector slipped 0.9%, dragged by a 4.4% drop for Recruit Holdings.