Nikkei edges down in choppy trading

Japan’s Nikkei edged lower in choppy trade on Wednesday morning as investors sold resource stocks after oil prices plunged.

Electronic components makers offset some of the resources losses, rising as investors bought back shares after Tuesday’s heavy sell-off.

The Nikkei share average fell 0.1 per cent to 21,874.17 at the midday break, after trading in positive territory earlier.

On Tuesday, the Nikkei tumbled to a two-week low, dragged down by the sell-off in tech shares and Apple suppliers.

Mining stocks and trading houses, whose businesses rely on commodity prices, were sold after oil prices tumbled 7.0 per cent hit by ongoing worries about weakening global demand and oversupply.

On Wednesday Inpex Corp shed 2.4 per cent, Japan Petroleum Exploration Co slipped 3.5 per cent, Marubeni Corp dropped 2.0 per cent and Mitsui & Co tumbled 2.5 per cent.

The airline sector, on the other hand, surged 1.9 per cent, with both ANA Holdings and Japan Airlines soaring 1.8 per cent as investors cheered lower fuel costs.

Short-covering helped such Apple suppliers as Murata Manufacturing and TDK Corp, which rose 0.5 per cent and 2.9 per cent, respectively.

Mitsubishi UFJ Financial Group which surged 1.7 per cent after the bank raised its net profit outlook to 950 billion yen from 850 billion yen for the fiscal year ending March.

Tokyo Seimitsu soared 16 per cent after it raised its net profit forecast to 13.6 billion yen from 12.8 billion yen for the year ending March thanks to strong sales of semiconductor manufacturing equipment. The broader Topix was flat at 1,638.56.